Cambridge MA | Sept 2024
Clear Scientific, a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company, today announced a $3M award from the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the NIH to support continued development of its candidate sequestrant-based therapeutic to reverse overdose from combinations of fentanyl and xylazine. The therapeutic immediately inactivates fentanyl and xylazine by binding and encapsulation, rapidly reversing their toxic effects, and accelerates their clearance from plasma into urine, performing rapid detoxification of the patient; “Remove the Cause, Remove the Effect.”
Co-use of fentanyl with the animal tranquilizer xylazine, a compound for which naloxone, the standard of care for opioid intoxication is ineffective, is a major cause of overdose death in the US. Co-use of fentanyl and xylazine (an adulterant) has reached crisis levels, with xylazine-positive overdose deaths increasing by 1,127% in the South and over 100% in all other regions between 2020 and 2021. Critically, xylazine, associated with significant negative health consequences, including fatal overdoses and severe morbidity (including deep flesh wounds), has been observed to reduce the effectiveness of naloxone in reversing fentanyl-induced respiratory depression. To combat this crisis, in July 2023 the White House released the “Fentanyl Adulterated or Associated with Xylazine Response Plan,” a first-of-its-kind National Response effort. A key part of the Plan is the rapid evaluation of reversal agents for overdose from xylazine/fentanyl combinations.
“Xylazine has rapidly become a major public health crisis, spreading to all 50 states in the US. We are grateful for NIDA’s continued support in bringing this urgently needed treatment to patients,” said Shekar Shetty, Clear Scientific’s Chief Executive Officer.
About Clear Scientific
Clear Scientific, a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company co-founded by George Whitesides of Harvard University, is pioneering a new paradigm for treatment of conditions and diseases that involve an excess of specific compounds in the body. This approach focuses on development of highly selective, small molecule sequestrants that bind, immediately inactivate, and rapidly clear excess compounds from the body.
For more information, visit https://www.clearsci.com.
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