RespireRx Pharmaceuticals (OTC:RSPI) Inc announced that it has been accepted into the National Institute of Health’s (NIH) Helping to End Addiction Long-term (HEAL) Initiative.
The HEAL initiative is operated by the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS), part of the NIH. Launched in 2018, the initiative is designed to find scientific solutions to the national opioid public health crisis.
Specifically, RespireRx will be part of NINDS’ Preclinical Screening Platform for Pain (PSPP) program, which evaluates non-opioid assets in a battery of established preclinical models, the company said. The PSPP program accepts small molecules, biologics, devices or natural products for evaluation, from researchers in academia and industry worldwide.
READ: RespireRx Pharmaceuticals signs letter of intent with Australian CRO to study drug for treating obstructive sleep apnea
RespireRx’s drug KRM-II-81 has been shown to be effective in relieving acute, chronic and neuropathic pain in a number of models without tolerance development or sedation. The drug is a GABAkine (referring to the neurotransmitter GABA), which binds to GABAA to inhibit pain sensory neurons.
“We believe that the expansion of our understanding of GABAA receptor structure and function has created a new surge in the discovery and development of GABAkines that target such receptors in a unique manner,” said Rok Cerne, a RespireRX research fellow in a statement. “This opens the promise of improved medicines for pain, epilepsy and other disorders caused by disruption of neuronal signaling.”
RespireRx Pharmaceuticals (OTC:RSPI) is a biopharmaceutical company developing innovative and revolutionary treatments for disorders caused by the disruption of neuronal signaling, including obstructive sleep apnea, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, epilepsy, chronic pain, and spinal cord injury.
Contact Andrew Kessel at andrew.kessel@proactiveinvestors.com
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