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Neurology/Psychiatric

Phoenix Pharmalabs’ PPL-138 reduces alcohol use and symptoms of PTSD in rat model

Sep. 15, 2023
Phoenix Pharmalabs Inc. has reported findings from in vivo studies that demonstrated that the company’s lead compound, PPL-138, reduced symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and decreased alcohol consumption in a rat model of PTSD/alcohol use disorder (AUD). The studies were conducted at the University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center and Florida Atlantic University under a grant from the U.S. Department of Defense.
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Substance Use & Poisoning

NIAID grant supports Ceramedix's development of anti-ceramide antibody for GI ARS

Aug. 25, 2023
Ceramedix Holding LLC has been awarded a phase IIB Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) grant valued at approximately US$3 million by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) to support the evaluation of the non-clinical pharmacology of its lead drug candidate. The anti-ceramide antibody is in development through the National Institutes of Health (NIH) as a potential therapeutic to mitigate and/or treat illness due to radiation exposure.
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Neurology/Psychiatric

Novel dual opioid analgesic with improved safety profile disclosed

Aug. 25, 2023
Mu opioid receptors (MOR) agonists exert strong anti-nociceptive activity but their ability to cause tolerance and physical dependence are serious issues of concern and limit their use. The activation of another branch of opioid receptors discovered lately, the opioid-related nociceptin receptor 1 (OPRL1) has recently shown the ability to enhance MOR agonist-induced analgesia while limiting tolerance and side effects.
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US FDA’s draft guidance for opioid use disorder devices greets tepid industry interest

July 27, 2023
By Mark McCarty
The U.S. FDA has issued a draft guidance for devices intended to address opioid use disorder (OUD), a problem with a massive public health footprint that has defied the efforts of public health programs. The draft guidance highlights some of the difficulties in executing pivotal studies for these devices, but the FDA’s July 27 press omits any mention of a 2018 innovation challenge for this category of devices, a programmatic effort that seems to have yielded little in the way of tangible results.
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