BOONTON, N.J., July 14, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- Enteris BioPharma, Inc., an industry leader in innovative oral dosage formulations, today announced that it has entered into a new agreement for continued clinical testing with development partner Cara Therapeutics (Nasdaq: CARA) involving Cara's peripherally-selective kappa opioid agonist, CR845, for the treatment of acute and chronic pain. 

Cara's formulation of oral CR845 will continue to utilize Enteris' proprietary oral delivery technology under a renewed and revised Manufacturing and Clinical Supply Agreement.  The new agreement includes technology access payments to Enteris and is representative of Enteris' broader "Feasibility-to-Licensing" strategy involving its peptide and small molecule oral drug delivery platform.

Brian Zietsman, President and CFO of Enteris BioPharma, commented: "We are pleased to be continuing our collaboration with Cara and with the progress of oral CR845.  This collaboration and this new agreement showcase the value of Enteris' proprietary oral delivery technology to our strategic partners.  The continuing clinical testing of oral CR845 is yet another validation of our oral drug delivery platform, which has been shown to be safe and well tolerated and has demonstrated clinically meaningful efficacy and enhanced bioavailability in Phase 2 and Phase 3 studies conducted by other partners."

Derek Chalmers, Ph.D., D.Sc., President and Chief Executive Officer of Cara Therapeutics, remarked, "We continue to be very impressed with the bioavailability and bioactivity exhibited by the oral formulation of CR845 utilizing Enteris' proprietary technology, and we look forward to initiating our Phase 2  study in osteoarthritis in Q3 of this year.  In our estimation, oral CR845 has the potential to address a significant market opportunity in the treatment of acute and chronic pain for which there continues to be a very large unmet need for safer, non-abusable alternatives to narcotic opioids and NSAIDs."

About Cara Therapeutics:  Cara Therapeutics is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on developing and commercializing new chemical entities designed to alleviate pain and pruritus by selectively targeting kappa opioid receptors. Cara is developing a novel and proprietary class of product candidates that target the body's peripheral nervous system and have demonstrated efficacy in patients with moderate-to-severe pain without inducing many of the undesirable side effects typically associated with currently available pain therapeutics.

About Enteris BioPharma:  Enteris BioPharma, Inc. is a privately held, New Jersey-based biotechnology company offering innovative formulation solutions built around its proprietary drug delivery technologies. Enteris' proprietary oral delivery technology has demonstrated a track record of success across a range of compounds and therapeutic indications and has also been the subject of numerous feasibility studies and active development programs, of which several are in clinical development. For more information on Enteris BioPharma and its proprietary oral delivery technology, please visit http://www.EnterisBioPharma.com

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SOURCE Enteris BioPharma, Inc.