RespireRx Pharmaceuticals Inc. Provides Update on Its Development Programs - Seite 2

KRM-II-81 has not yet been tested in humans and there can be no assurance that such tests will be successful.

AMPAkines

The Company has been working with Dr. David Fuller at the University of Florida which has funding from NIH, to evaluate the use of AMPAkines for the treatment of compromised motor function in spinal cord injury (“SCI”). Using rodents that have received spinal hemi-sections, CX717 was observed to increase motor nerve activity bilaterally. The effect on the hemisected side was greater than that measured on the intact side, with the recovery approximating that seen on the intact side prior to administration of AMPAkine. The doses of AMPAkines active in SCI were comparable to those demonstrating antagonism of opioid induced respiratory depression, indicating target engagement of the AMPA receptors.

Recently, studies done by others in patients with SCI have demonstrated that neural plasticity can be induced to improve motor function. This is based on the ability of spinal circuitry to learn how to adjust spinal and brainstem synaptic strength following repeated hypoxic bouts (short term deprivation of oxygen). Animal studies have demonstrated the ability of AMPAkines to dramatically enhance the effects of acute intermittent hypoxia (“AIH”) on motor neuron activity after SCI. Because AMPAkines are known to enhance synaptic plasticity, the potential exists to harness repetitive AIH in combination with AMPAkines as a means of inducing functional recovery of motor function following SCI.

These animal models of motor nerve function following SCI support proof of concept for a new treatment paradigm using AMPAkines to improve motor functions in patients with SCI. With additional funding granted by NIH to Dr. Fuller, the Company is continuing its collaborative preclinical research with him, while it is planning a clinical trial program focused on developing AMPAkines for the restoration of certain motor functions in patients with SCI. The Company is working with researchers at highly regarded clinical sites to finalize a Phase 2 clinical trial protocol. We believe that a clinical study could be initiated within several months of raising sufficient financing (of which no assurance can be provided).