US-based biopharmaceutical company NRx Pharmaceuticals has announced the signing of a license agreement for US Patent 8,653,120 to support the use of NRX-101 in chronic pain treatment.
NRX-101 is an oral fixed-dose combination of D-cycloserine and lurasidone. It is designed to target the brain’s N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) receptor.
The patent claims the use of D-cycloserine to treat chronic pain. To license it, NRx Pharmaceuticals has committed to pay milestones and royalties as development milestones are achieved in the chronic pain field.
According to the biopharmaceutical firm, the patent is backed by vast nonclinical data and early clinical data that point to the potential for NMDA antagonist drugs like NRX-101 to reduce both chronic pain and neuropathic pain while reducing opioid cravings.
NRx Pharmaceuticals said that the previously reported and additional published non-clinical results show that NRX-101 is neither neurotoxic nor addictive.
NRX-101 has received the Breakthrough Therapy Designation, Fast Track Designation, a Special Protocol Agreement, and a Biomarker Letter of Support from the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for suicidal treatment-resistant bipolar depression (S-TRBD).
In June this year, the biopharmaceutical firm unveiled its plans to develop NRX-101 for chronic pain.
The fixed-dose combination is also being developed for post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).
In collaboration with Alvogen Pharmaceuticals, which holds the global rights to NRX-101 for addressing S-TRBD, NRx Pharmaceuticals is working to make the drug candidate accessible to a global patient population with unmet medical needs.
NRx Pharmaceuticals is also said to be in the process of enrolling patients in an Israeli-based trial focused on individuals suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder along with depression and suicidal tendencies.
