In 1996 he co-founded a company called Inotek and served as its Chief Scientific Officer. The company focused on the development of various novel small molecules, including new inhibitors of PARP. One of the compounds discovered by Inotek, PJ34, is a commonly used experimental tool to inhibit PARP. Another, PARP inhibitor, INO-1001, entered clinical trials and Inotek partnered its development with Genentech in 2006. In 2021, Szabo’s team demonstrated that low concentrations of the gaseous molecule cyanide – previously known only for its toxic effects – at ultra-low concentrations, can also have beneficial, i.e. stimulatory bioenergetic effects in mammalian cells, thereby raising the possibility of cyanide being the fourth mammalian gaseous transmitter after nitric oxide, carbon monoxide and hydrogen sulfide.
