Medicines to ease opioid withdrawal symptoms
Official title: Development of small molecule therapeutics for mitigating opioid withdrawal syndrome
Funded at Evodenovo, INC. · NIH-11192820 · Data updated 2026-11-12
This project aims to create new small-molecule medicines that target a brain receptor to help people with opioid use disorder have milder withdrawal symptoms.
Quick facts
| Grant type | Sbir 2 grant |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | Evodenovo, INC. NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (andover, UNITED STATES) |
| Project start | April 15, 2022 |
| Project end | August 31, 2027 |
| Funding year | 2025 |
| Award (this year) | $1,094,320 |
| NIH project number | 5R44DA053844-03 |
| Project ID | NIH-11192820 on NIH RePORTER |
Who could benefit from this research
✓Could help
Future trials would likely enroll adults with opioid use disorder who are experiencing withdrawal or seeking alternatives to current replacement therapies.
✕Less likely to help
People who do not have opioid dependence or are only using opioids short-term for acute pain are unlikely to benefit from this work.
What this research studies
From a patient's view, the team is designing drug-like pills that act on a brain receptor called GPR139 which the company believes can reduce the negative effects of opioids without blocking pain relief. Scientists will use lab models of nerve cells, medicinal chemistry to make promising compounds, and opioid pharmacology tests to pick the best candidates. Work is led by a small biotech company with experts in genetics, receptor signaling, and drug design to move leads toward treatments. The project is currently preclinical and focused on finding safe, effective compounds that could later enter human trials.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, these medicines could lessen withdrawal severity and may lower relapse risk for people with opioid use disorder.
How similar studies have gone: Related strategies that separate opioid signaling pathways have shown promise in animal research, but targeting GPR139 is a novel approach that is largely untested in humans.
Where this research is happening
-
Evodenovo, INC.
andover, United States Active
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Labed, Sid Ahmed — Evodenovo, INC.
- Study coordinator: Labed, Sid Ahmed
Related research
Other NIH-funded projects on the same topics.
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Small molecule treatments to ease opioid withdrawal and dependence
A new project aims to create small molecules that target a specific brain receptor to relieve opioid withdrawal symptoms and reduce dependence, potentially helping people who are using opioids for pain.
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Creating new medications to help reduce opioid withdrawal symptoms
This study is looking for new medications that can help people going through opioid withdrawal by targeting a specific receptor in the brain, aiming to provide pain relief without the risk of addiction, and patients may have the chance to try these new treatments in clinical trials.
About this research
- This is an active NIH-funded research project — typically early-stage science, not a clinical trial accepting patient enrollment.
- Some NIH-funded labs run parallel clinical studies or seek volunteers for related work. To check, contact the principal investigator or institution listed above.
- For full project details, budget, and progress reports, visit the official NIH RePORTER page.