Atelerix Life Sciences

A BETTER TREATMENT FOR OPIOID INDUCED RESPIRATORY DEPRESSION (OIRD)

Restoring Breathing – Preserving Pain Relief

Introduction

Unmet Need: Every year, millions of US surgical patients experience opioid-induced respiratory depression (OIRD) severe enough to require prolonged mechanical ventilation and longer hospital stays.

  • Problem: Current drug for OIRD, Naloxone, restores breathing but is used infrequently because it reverses pain relief
  • Solution: New drug, ATLX-0199 (sometimes referred to as Sudaxine), reverses OIRD while preserving pain relief
  • Market: Over $13 billion annually
  • Technology: Proprietary small molecule platform; strong animal data; NIH-backed, including SBIR grant.
  • Team: Experienced, industry-known, motivated, committed
  • Stage: Late pre-clinical.

Opioid-Induced Respiratory Depression

Opioid-induced respiratory depression (OIRD) is a common and potentially deadly side effect of opioids. The overall community problem affects tens of millions; in the hospital surgical setting alone it affects over 1.9 million patients annually.

In the Community

In the last decade, millions of people have died from OIRD caused by opioid overdose

In the Hospital

Opioids are often used for post-surgery pain relief, causing frequent OIRD

In the Field

U.S health officials are increasingly concerned about OIRD in terrorism

Discovering Our Lead Compound

Based on overall chemical stability, efficacy, negligible cardiovascular effects, and onset profiles, ATLX-0199 (D-Cystine diME) was selected as the lead compound for clinical development, with back-up compounds available.  ATLX-0199 safely stimulates opioid-depressed respiratory drive without interfering with opioid-induced analgesia.

Available Data

In-vitro & in-vivo data show compelling pre-clinical proof of concept
ATLX-0199 increases minute ventilation and overcomes opioid-induced respiratory depression. ATLX-0199 (D-Cystine diME) reverses the respiratory depression and V/Q mismatch after 10 mg/kg IV morphine in conscious rats. ATLX-0199 (D-Cystine diME) does not negatively impact the analgesic actions of morphine in freely-moving rats.

David Kalergis, JD/MBA

Stephen Lewis,
PhD

James Bates, MD/
PhD

Benjamin Gaston,
MD

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