The hydroxyl at position 3 and aminomethyl group at position 4 of its ring endow pyridoxamine with a variety of chemical properties, including the scavenging of free radical species and carbonyl species formed in sugar and lipid degradation and chelation of metal ions that catalyze Amadori reactions.

[3] Pyridoxamine inhibits the Maillard reaction and can block the formation of advanced glycation endproducts,[4] which are associated with medical complications of diabetes.

[2] A variety of preclinical studies in animal models of diabetes indicated that pyridoxamine improved kidney histology comparable or superior to aminoguanidine.

[11] Investors in Biostratum had realized that because Biostratum had no patent on pyridoxamine itself, and that pyridoxamine was commonly available for purchase as a dietary supplement, the company would be unable to charge enough money for the treatment (should it be approved as a prescription drug by the FDA) for the investors to get a reasonable return on the investment they had already made (about $100M) much less on the additional investment a Phase III trial would require.

[12] The FDA stated that the status of Pyridorin as an investigational new drug, as a result of an application filed by BioStratum in July 1999 and effective on September 1, 1999, meant that "the marketing of pyridoxamine in a dietary supplement is essentially equivalent to the marketing of an investigational new drug as a dietary supplement" because there was an "absence of independent, verifiable evidence that the substance was marketed as a food or a dietary supplement prior to its authorization for investigation as a new drug.

In February 24, 2016 NephroGenex was forced to pause the Phase 3 trial and ultimately terminate it later that year due to a lack of funding.

The company retained the services of an investment banking firm which reached out to many prospective buyers, which by September 2016 had failed to consummate a transaction.