CerSci Therapeutics Awarded Phase II SBIR Grant from the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health

DALLAS, Aug. 1, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- CerSci Therapeutics, a non-opioid drug development firm based in Dallas, Texas, has received notice from the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) that it has been awarded a Direct-to-Phase II Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) grant totaling over $650,000 in 2017 with an additional $1,000,000 to follow in 2018. These funds will support CerSci's Investigational New Drug application of their lead non-opioid drug candidate CT-044 to the Food and Drug Administration targeting submission in 3^rd quarter 2018.

This notice comes in the wake of the recent Special Report in The New England Journal of Medicine authored by NIDA director Nora D. Volkow, and NIH director Francis S. Collins entitled "The Role of Science in Addressing the Opioid Crisis" which calls for "safer, more effective treatments" for pain. CerSci's CT-044 alleviates acute and prevents chronic pain by neutralizing excessive peroxynitrite following injury; its initial use will be to treat post-surgical pain thus providing patients, clinicians, and caregivers an alternative to opioid usage. CerSci's patented lead molecular asset, CT-044, is an orally-bioavailable, peripherally-acting, non-metal based catalytic peroxynitrite neutralizer. CT-044 has demonstrated robust efficacy across a battery of pre-clinical post-surgical pain models while exhibiting a favorable safety and toxicology profile across multiple species.

Dr. Scott L. Dax, CerSci Co-Founder and Chief Scientific Officer, is the principal investigator on the awarded SBIR, and inventor of CT-044. He has been working in the pharmaceutical industry for over 25 years, and has supervised research teams conducting pain research, advancing numerous NCEs (New Chemical Entities) into clinical development. Dr. Dax defines the CerSci mission as a calling to end human suffering by discovering and developing new therapies to conquer pain. "Speaking from my experiences spanning decades and many programs, CT-044 and the CerSci scientific platform, coupled with the synergistic expertise of our team is truly special; the opportunity and potential are something different from anything I have seen. I am grateful for this grant award because after all our hard work, CT-044 can finally enter clinical trials and soon thereafter help patients. CerSci can be the company to help patients truly in need and end this awful opioid crisis."

This content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the National Institutes of Health.

About CerSci Therapeutics
CerSci is dedicated to pharmaceutical research and development in the area of non-opioid therapeutics for the alleviation of acute and chronic pain. CerSci is currently preparing its lead drug candidate, CT-044, for Investigational New Drug (IND) application to the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), which will enable human clinical trials (expected to commence in late 2018).

Media Contact:
Lucas Rodriguez
+1 (956) 279-6888
www.CerSci.com

SOURCE CerSci Therapeutics

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