“Meth-OD” trial will be first known clinical trial specifically for patients suffering from methamphetamine overdose
LITTLE ROCK, ARKANSAS, USA, October 5, 2020 /EINPresswire.com/ — InterveXion Therapeutics, a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company, today announced the award of additional Federal funds to support ongoing development of IXT-m200, an anti-methamphetamine antibody. This new award will fund a Phase 2 clinical trial for IXT-m200 in patients with acute methamphetamine overdose, called the “Meth-OD” trial.
The three-year $8.1 million grant award comes from the National Institutes of Health/National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIH/NIDA) which has funded previous and ongoing development of IXT-m200. A sub-award to the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS) is part of the grant, and UAMS will continue to play an important role in the advancement of IXT-m200 development. InterveXion is a BioVentures, LLC company housed on the UAMS campus in Little Rock, AR.
There are no specific medications available for treatment of METH overdose, and we are excited about the potential for IXT-m200 to help people suffering from acute METH toxicity.” — W. Brooks Gentry, MD, Chief Medical Officer, InterveXion
IXT-m200, a monoclonal antibody that specifically binds methamphetamine in the blood and reduces methamphetamine effects on the brain, is being developed both for acute methamphetamine overdose and as a chronic therapy for patients seeking to overcome methamphetamine use disorder. InterveXion has released positive data from a pre-specified interim data evaluation from its ongoing Phase 2 STAMPOUT study of IXT-m200 in people who use methamphetamine, and final top-line data from STAMPOUT are expected later this year.
“Methamphetamine overdose remains an ongoing and growing public health crisis,” said W. Brooks Gentry, M.D., InterveXion’s Chief Medical Officer. “Deaths from methamphetamine overdose have surpassed those from opioids in the western half of the US, and the ongoing pandemic has exacerbated the overdose problem in the US and around the world. There are no specific medications available for treatment of methamphetamine overdose, and we are excited about the potential for IXT-m200 to help patients suffering from acute methamphetamine toxicity”.
Dr. Gentry and Misty Stevens, Ph.D. are the co-principal investigators on the new grant. Dr. Stevens is InterveXion’s Chief Operating Officer, and has significant experience in managing Federally funded projects, including the company’s previous and ongoing grants. Dr. Gentry is a co-founder and Chief Medical Officer of InterveXion. He is also a Professor of Anesthesiology and Pharmacology & Toxicology and holds the Wilbur D. Mills Chair in Alcohol and Drug Abuse Studies at UAMS.
About InterveXion
InterveXion is the leading biopharmaceutical company developing immunotherapies for patients with methamphetamine use disorder. InterveXion’s lead product, IXT-m200, is a monoclonal antibody against methamphetamine which has received US FDA Fast Track Designation for treatment of methamphetamine use disorder and which is currently undergoing Phase 2 clinical testing in the STAMPOUT study (NCT0333866).