NEW ORLEANS (press release) — South Rampart Pharma, a clinical-stage life science company advancing medications for the treatment of pain and fever, announced it achieved milestones outlined in the Phase I portion of its Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) grant (1R42NS119103) received from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and advanced to the Phase II portion of its NIH grant. The “fast-track” combined Phase I/II award provides for $1.9 million of funding to support the ongoing clinical development of the company’s lead small molecule, SRP-3D (DA), a novel non-opioid therapeutic candidate. South Rampart Pharma currently is completing the single ascending dose phase of the Phase 1 clinical trial of SRP-3D (DA) and remains on track to report topline results from the study in the third quarter of 2022.
“We are incredibly pleased with the progress of our SRP-3D (DA) program, our ability to meet NIH STTR milestones, and to support the continued advancement of our clinical development pipeline on multiple fronts,” said Hernan Bazan, M.D., F.A.C.S., CEO and co-founder of South Rampart Pharma and professor of surgery at the Ochsner Clinic. “The STTR fast-track award enabled us to pursue important pre-clinical work, including GLP toxicity studies, oral formulation development, and ultimate IND filing that brought our lead asset into the clinic. It also supported further pipeline expansion with the development of a novel intravenous formulation of our compound for post-operative pain, in addition to several mechanisms of action studies that added to our understanding of how the lead asset exerts pain relief while lacking liver toxicity. We look forward to continuing our efforts to bring our novel non-opioid approach forward to the high, unmet need of pain management that is safe, effective, and non-addictive.
A Differentiated Approach to Pain Management Innovation
South Rampart Pharma’s lead program, SRP-3D (DA), is a novel acetaminophen analog with a unique mechanism of action that notably lacks the liver toxicity present in acetaminophen. In development to treat acute and other forms of pain, pre-clinical research to date demonstrates that SRP-3D (DA) offers a compelling safety profile over currently available pain medications, including:
- Demonstrating ability to reduce both pain and fever
- No liver toxicity seen with high dose treatment
- No high-dose associated kidney toxicity
- Favorable liver metabolic profile (cytochrome P450)
- No abuse potential given non-opioid approach
The ongoing Phase 1 clinical trial is enrolling 60 patients in a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study with endpoints assessing the safety, tolerability, and pharmacokinetics (P.K.) of single and multiple ascending oral doses of SRP-3D (DA). Further, it will characterize the pharmacodynamics and food effect on SRP-3D (DA). The Phase 1 study is being conducted at Quotient Sciences in Miami, FL, known for its excellence at determining the needed clinical pharmacology of Phase 1 studies. Data are expected in the third quarter of 2022.
Addressing the Ineffective Standard of Care in Pain Management
Pain is one of the most prevalent and costly public health issues worldwide[1]. In the U.S. alone, an estimated 20% (50 million) of adults experience chronic pain[2], and more than 76 million have suffered from pain that lasts longer than 24 hours[3]. Currently available medications are either highly addictive or cause harm to the liver and kidney. For example, acetaminophen hepatotoxicity remains the most common cause of acute liver failure in the U.S., and opioids were associated with more than 100,000 drug overdose deaths in 20214, a nearly 30% increase from the 78,056 deaths during the same period the year before.
