Vivozon Selected by U.S. NIDA for 'VVZ-2471' Opioid Addiction Treatment Development Project

Vivozon, an affiliate of Vivozon Pharmaceutical, announced on September 8 that its innovative first-in-class drug candidate, VVZ-2471, was selected on September 2 (local time) by the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA), part of the U.S. National Institutes of Health (NIH), as a development project for an opioid use disorder (OUD) treatment.

This selection is part of an industry-academic joint research support program within the NIH. The principal investigator is a clinical professor at a university located in Virginia, United States. Vivozon will receive approximately 6.4 million dollars (about 9 billion KRW) to support preclinical and clinical trials.

VVZ-2471 is a dual antagonist that simultaneously blocks the serotonin 5-HT2A receptor and the mGluR5 receptor. It is currently undergoing a Phase 2 clinical trial in Korea for the development of a non-narcotic analgesic, targeting patients with postherpetic neuralgia (PHN). Preclinical studies have demonstrated its efficacy in pain relief and addiction treatment, leading to expectations that it will help reduce the risk of opioid and cocaine addiction and contribute to long-term abstinence maintenance in the future.

Vivozon has also submitted a project to the NIH for the development of a cocaine use disorder (CUD) treatment. The company explained that, despite cocaine addiction causing serious social and economic problems worldwide, including in the United States, there is currently no approved treatment, making it highly likely that the CUD project will also be approved. If the CUD project is additionally selected, the simultaneous development of treatments for both addictive disorders, along with analgesic development, is expected to maximize the value of VVZ-2471.

A Vivozon representative stated, "This selection means that the scientific validity and innovativeness of VVZ-2471 have been rigorously validated and recognized by a U.S. federal research institution," adding, "We will collaborate with U.S. research partners to successfully complete the project and develop treatments for opioid and cocaine addiction, thereby strengthening our position in the global central nervous system therapeutics market."

The representative further emphasized, "Based on this achievement, we expect to provide innovative addiction treatment solutions to the global market, including the United States."