Ensysce Biosciences CEO Dr. Lynn Kirkpatrick and Creighton University's Dr. Neel Pathak Discuss the Opioid Crisis and Next Generation Opioids

NEW YORK, March 3, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Today's Marketplace (TMP) is proud to announce a featured interview with Ensysce Biosciences (NASDAQ: ENSC) CEO Dr. Lynn Kirkpatrick and Dr. Neel Pathak, DS, Program Director with Creighton University. The doctors joined TMP's host Jane King to discuss the ongoing issues with opioids for pain management and how "clever chemistry" is being used to introduce safer opioids that are less prone to accidental overdose and abuse.

The full interview can be viewed online here.

"[Unfortunately,] opioids are still being prescribed for pain because, for many patients, there still are no other alternatives available to meet their needs for relief of severe and chronic pain, such as post-acute surgical care, cancer care, palliative care, etc. Yet we all know that opioids come with severe risks as well. Still, there are about 3 million patients a year that have no choice but to rely on opioids."

Dr. Pathak went on to explain to King that those risks not only encompass health concerns like abuse and addiction but also have a serious economic impact, costing the healthcare industry almost one trillion dollars annually!

Dr. Kirkpatrick explained how Ensysce Biosciences is trying to change all that by introducing safer opioids.

"Our team uses what I like to call 'clever chemistry' to create the next generation of opioids," she told King. "The clever chemistry is designed to not only reduce abuse but to make these products safer, so patients in pain can have less fear and higher confidence level in taking opioid medications when they need them." 

The pharmaceutical industry recognizes the opioid crisis in America. Whereas other companies have invested billions of dollars unsuccessfully trying to develop other forms of painkillers that are as effective as opioids, Dr. Kirkpatrick said her company has taken a different approach -- which is to re-engineer opioids so that doctors can be confident prescribing and patients more comfortable taking.

Dr. Kirkpatrick further clarifies, "[To date] there are no products on the market that can surpass the pain relief of opioids. We are chemically modifying opioids, making them inactive unless they are taken orally, which significantly cuts down the chances of abuse."

That "clever" chemical engineering also includes built-in safeguards against overdose that prevent the medication from being released if more than the prescribed dosage is ingested. All of this while still making the drug – in this case, oxycodone – still effective as always in alleviating pain.

"This is great because now we have a biological way to prevent abuse and increase patient confidence," says Dr. Pathak.

Kirkpatrick said that their chemically modified oxycodone has received FDA "Fast Track" as well as "Breakthrough Therapy" designation, which means the agency recognizes the "medical need" for this kind of product as well as the improvement over available therapies and is doing its best to expedite its availability to the public.

TMP's interviews cover important business topics and solutions with insights from academic experts and business leaders. Dr. Kirkpatrick said her appearance on TMP was a great way to get her company's vision across to a national audience. "TMP provides a perfect platform to be able to discuss the dueling crises in America today, the needs of millions of Americans for opioid pain treatment to function daily versus the regulations that have been put in place to restrict opioid use. Ensysce is pleased that their approach may be able to break this impasse."

About Ensysce Biosciences

Ensysce is a developer of first-in-class, uniquely innovative solutions in oral drug delivery. Their proprietary TAAP™ and MPAR^® technologies improve the care and safety of patients by preventing the possibility of both abuse and overdose of prescription drugs. Learn more by visiting ensysce.com.

About Creighton University

Creighton University is a Jesuit, Catholic university located in Omaha, Neb., that enrolls more than 4,100 undergraduate and 3,200 professional school and graduate students bridging health, law, business, and the arts and sciences for a more just world. For more information, visit our website at: www.creighton.edu.

About Today's Marketplace 

Today's Marketplace (TMP) is a series of C-Suite interviews filmed at the prestigious New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) and the NASDAQ MarketSite studio for earned media distribution. TMP's multi-channel distribution provides robust authoritative and credible media exposure to under-reported stories. Visit TMP at todaysmarketplace.tv

Media Contact:

Diane Rygh; [email protected]

SOURCE Today's Marketplace