Funds will Support Recent Seed Round Financing Leading to First-in-Human Testing
Charlottesville, VA, September 19, 2022. Atelerix Life Sciences Inc., a Charlottesville, Virginia-based biotechnology company focused on novel treatments for respiratory depression, today announced that it has been awarded a $1.84 million direct-to Phase 2 Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) grant from the National Heart Lung and Blood Institute of the National Institutes of Health. The proceeds will be used to support development of the Company’s novel respiratory stimulant, lead drug ATLX-0199, in preparation for the U.S. Food & Drug Administration (USFDA) Investigational New Drug (IND) application process, including IND-enabling studies and GMP manufacturing.
“This award furthers the translation of our life-enhancing technology from the academic laboratory to its ultimate use in patients with respiratory depression in the hospital critical care and perioperative settings,” said David Kalergis, Atelerix CEO. “The SBIR award will pay for much of the remaining pre-clinical milestone work leading to an IND and human testing, adding a non-dilutive component to the recent closing of our $800,000 Seed Round financing.”
About Atelerix Life Sciences
Atelerix Life Sciences Inc. is a biotech company developing a platform technology of new drugs targeting unmet medical needs. The lead compound for this novel drug family is ATLX-0199, a novel respiratory stimulant to address morbidity and death arising from drug-induced respiratory depression (DIRD) and related conditions. The current approach to drug-induced respiratory side effects from opioid or sedative medications is to administer an opioid receptor antagonist such as naloxone, which can help reverse certain life-threatening conditions. These, however, carry risks and limitations, particularly as they suppress pain control, making them problematic in the surgical and critical care settings. Atelerix’s solution is found within the new platform of small molecule drugs called active thiol-based compounds (ATBCs) targeted at safely preventing or reversing respiratory depression via a novel molecular pathway. Lead drug ATLX-0199 uses a novel mechanism of action to reverse DIRD while preserving vital pain relief and sedation, with first uses targeted in the perioperative and critical care hospital settings.