NIH Awards $1.7M Innovation Grant to Pain Therapeutics

Pain Therapeutics, Inc. PTIE today reported that the National Institutes of Health (NIH) has awarded the Company a $1.7 million innovation grant. This grant award provides a path forward for the Company to develop a small molecule drug, called PTI-125, that offers a promising new approach to treat Alzheimer's Disease. "We are grateful to the National Institutes of Health for its support of our research program," said Remi Barbier, Chairman, President & CEO of Pain Therapeutics. "NIH has long been a supporter of innovative technologies that stand up to rigorous, peer reviewed scientific evaluation and that have the potential to benefit human health in areas of unmet needs, such as Alzheimer's Disease." The NIH's National Institute on Aging awarded this innovation grant to Pain Therapeutics following an in-depth evaluation of PTI-125 for scientific and technical merit. This competitive review process relies on academic, clinical and industry experts in Alzheimer's Disease and other neurological disorders. The science that underlies PTI-125 was initially published in The Journal of Neuroscience (2012-32:9773-9784), the highest-ranking journal in its discipline. PTI-125 prevents the formation of both amyloid plaques and neurofibrillary tangles (composed of tau protein), the hallmarks of Alzheimer's Disease (AD). Its novel mechanism of action and early data suggest this drug may improve cognition and protect against the toxic effects of amyloid in neurons, raising hopes for a treatment to combat cognitive decline in patients with AD. With this NIH award, Pain Therapeutics will conduct pre-clinical studies that are expected to enable an Investigational New Drug (IND) regulatory filing for PTI-125. PTI-125 is an oral, small molecule drug candidate that was designed in-house and characterized by outside collaborators. The Company owns exclusive, worldwide commercial rights to PTI-125 and related technologies.