NEW
ORLEANS, May 20, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- LSU Health
New Orleans announces the discovery and clinical advancement of a
new non-opioid therapeutic candidate for treatment of acute,
chronic, and neuropathic pain and migraine headaches which does not
have the organ toxicity or addiction potential of other
currently-available pain therapeutics.
Dr. Nicolas Bazan, Boyd Professor and Director of the
Neuroscience Center of Excellence, led the team that discovered
this innovative therapeutic and is the senior author of this week's
publication in Nature's Scientific Reports. This new
peer-reviewed manuscript provides in-depth insights into the novel
compound's activity and mechanism while also confirming gene
expressions and signaling networks in the brain that are critical
to managing and treating pain.
With great enthusiasm, Dr. Bazan says: "Our research offers
hope for millions suffering from pain while also providing a
pathway to counteract addiction. This extensive study also
validates the entrepreneurial and translational potential of the
research conducted at the LSU Health Neuroscience Center of
Excellence. By understanding and harnessing the brain's own
mechanisms, we are addressing the opioid crisis by developing
safer, more effective pain management solutions for people
worldwide."
LSU Health New Orleans has exclusively licensed the patents
defining the family of non-opioid pain therapeutics to South
Rampart Pharma to advance this new, safer painkiller to the market.
With support from institutional, federal, and venture funding, the
lead compound (SRP-001) now has successfully demonstrated safety
and efficacy in Phase 1 human clinical trials. Recently, the FDA
granted Fast Track designation for SRP-001 for acute pain
treatment, acknowledging its potential to address a critical unmet
medical need and ensuring the drug will advance into more
comprehensive clinical trials.
Dr. Hernan Bazan, CEO and co-founder of South Rampart
Pharma, adds: "The quest for innovative pain solutions is critical,
driven by the extensive prevalence of pain conditions affecting up
to 27% of adults worldwide, including over 51 million adults in the
U.S. Existing treatments such as opioids, acetaminophen, and NSAIDs
pose risks of addiction and toxicity with overuse, so we are eager
to advance SRP-001 into Phase 2 randomized and controlled studies
for acute and neuropathic pain in the second half of 2024."
Dr. Steve Nelson, Chancellor
of LSU Health New Orleans, notes: "Dr. Nicolas Bazan's exciting discovery demonstrates
LSU Health's continual commitment to furthering fundamental
biomedical research, translating medical innovations to the clinic,
serving patients in Louisiana and
around the globe, and supporting local entrepreneurs and economic
development. We look forward to this important innovation advancing
through clinical trials and reducing the heavy burdens of both pain
and addiction carried by so many."
To learn more about this new drug candidate or Dr. Bazan,
visit the LSU Health New Orleans Neuroscience Center of
Excellence.
About the Publication
Bazan HA et al.
Transcriptomic signature, bioactivity and safety of a
non-hepatotoxic analgesic generating AM404 in the midbrain PAG
region. Sci Rep 14, 11103 (2024). DOI:
10.1038/s41598-024-61791-z
About LSU Health New Orleans
LSU Health New
Orleans educates Louisiana's
health care professionals. The state's health sciences university
leader, LSU Health New Orleans includes a School of Medicine with
campuses in Baton Rouge and
Lafayette, the state's only School
of Dentistry, Louisiana's only
public School of Public Health, and Schools of Allied Health
Professions, Nursing, and Graduate Studies. LSU Health New Orleans
faculty take care of patients in public and private hospitals and
clinics throughout the region. In the vanguard of biosciences
research, the LSU Health New Orleans research enterprise generates
jobs and enormous annual economic impact. LSU Health New Orleans
faculty have made lifesaving discoveries and continue to work to
prevent, advance treatment or cure disease.
Media Contact:
Alicia Vial
alicia@gambelpr.com
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SOURCE LSU Health New Orleans