NRx Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (Nasdaq: NRXP), a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company, today announced that advice from regulatory counsel, which includes former senior officials from the Food and Drug Administration, supports filing two New Drug Applications (NDAs) in 2024: an application for Accelerated Approval for NRX-101 to treat bipolar depression in patients with akathisia and an application for approval of NRX-100 (IV ketamine) for treatment of suicidal depression.
While efficacy and safety data are now in hand, filing of the above applications is dependent upon completion of 12-month stability data in manufactured lots as required by FDA regulations.
As disclosed in an 8K filing, NRx will be filing the NRX-101 application without a commercial partner. The addressable market for the accelerated approval indication is such that a compact and efficient salesforce can be constructed by a small company, such as NRx, and current executives at NRx have previously held primary responsibility for launch of similar-sized pharmaceutical assets.
NRx continues work to enable the distribution of shares in Hope Therapeutics. This distribution is dependent upon completion of a public audit and successful review of an SEC Form 10.
“The NRx team has worked diligently since the end of the COVID pandemic to achieve these milestones for our shareholders and most importantly the patients we have always sought to help,” said Dr. Jonathan Javitt, Chairman and Chief Scientist of NRx. “Given the near-term market opportunity represented by an accelerated approval process, NRx anticipates a higher potential return to NRx investors associated with an NRx-led initiative than that which would likely be achieved with a large commercial partner.”
NRX-101 for Bipolar Depression
NRX-101 is the Company’s patented (Composition of Matter), oral combination of the NMDA antagonist D-cycloserine and lurasidone for bipolar depression. Data from two active control clinical trials vs. the standard of care, lurasidone, have shown comparable antidepressant efficacy with clinically important reductions in suicidality and/or akathisia. To the Company’s knowledge, no other oral agent has demonstrated such a valuable profile.
Up to 15% of people treated with drugs in lurasidone’s class develop akathisia7; this would constitute an estimated $3.7 billion initial market for NRX-101, with no approved medicines for akathisia. This is a population the Company can readily address without a large commercial partner, given the relatively small number of psychiatrists who treat high-risk patients. The broad bipolar market constitutes 7 million people and an opportunity greater than $20 billion per year. With a best-in-class product profile, the Company projects NRX-101 sales in excess of $2 billion.
NRX-101 was awarded Breakthrough Therapy Designation, Fast Track Designation, a Biomarker Letter of Support, and a Special Protocol Agreement by the FDA for treatment of suicidal bipolar depression.
NRX-100 (IV ketamine) for Suicidal Depression
Intravenous ketamine is widely accepted as a standard of care for acute treatment of suicidal depression, in the absence of an FDA-labeled product; the only treatment currently approved by FDA is electroconvulsive therapy (ECT).
According to the CDC, 3.5 million Americans make a plan for suicide each year.8 This represents a $3-5 billion market at expected pricing.
Based on the data in the trials referenced above, the Company’s regulatory counsel has encouraged the Company to file an NDA for suicidal depression for NRX-100. This application has been in development and awaits 12-month stability data for filing, which is expected in 2024.
About NRx Pharmaceuticals
NRx Pharmaceuticals is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company developing therapeutics based on its NMDA platform for the treatment of central nervous system disorders, specifically suicidal bipolar depression, chronic pain and PTSD. The Company is developing NRX-101, an FDA-designated investigational Breakthrough Therapy for suicidal treatment-resistant bipolar depression and chronic pain. NRX-101 additionally has potential to act as a non-opioid treatment for chronic pain, as well as a treatment for complicated UTI.
NRx has recently announced plans to submit a New Drug Application for NRX-100 (IV ketamine) in the treatment of suicidal depression, based on results of well-controlled clinical trials conducted under the auspices of the US National Institutes of Health and newly obtained data from French health authorities, licensed under a data sharing agreements. NRx was awarded Fast Track Designation for development of ketamine (NRX-100) by the US FDA as part of a protocol to treat patients with acute suicidality.
About HOPE Therapeutics, Inc.
HOPE Therapeutics, Inc. (www.hopetherapeutics.com) is a Specialty Pharmaceutical Company, wholly-owned by NRX Pharmaceuticals focused on development and marketing of an FDA-approved form of intravenous ketamine for the treatment of acute suicidality and depression together with a digital therapeutic-enabled platform designed to augment and preserve the clinical benefit of NMDA-targeted drug therapy.
