Lightlake, NIDA collaborate to develop opioid addiction treatment

Lightlake Therapeutics has collaborated with the Division of Pharmacotherapies and Medical Consequences of Drug Abuse (DPMCDA), part of the US the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA), to co-develop a treatment for opioid addiction.

The collaboration aims to establish a clinical development plan and regulatory pathway leading to FDA approval and commercialisation of a new pharmaceutical treatment that addresses the complications of opioid addiction within 18 months.

Lightlake chief executive officer Dr Roger Crystal said; "This is a growing US health concern, and a complex issue to address, because there are multiple opioid-based drugs being used, both illegally and prescribed.

"Lightlake is leveraging its substantial expertise in opioid antagonists to develop a pharmaceutical solution that is efficient, pragmatic, and cost-effective."

According to the deal, DPMCDA will sponsor a Phase I study in which 14 healthy volunteer subjects will participate to assess the pharmacokinetic properties of Lightlake’s product candidate.

If the study is successful, IDA anticipates filing an IND for a larger, final study.

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Image: National Institutes of Health Clinical Center, located in Bethesda, Maryland US. Photo: Courtesy of Christopher Ziemnowicz.