Rutgers Licenses Novel Pain Treatment Compound to Tonix Pharmaceuticals, Advancing Non-Opioid Solutions for Chronic Pain 

Exclusive deal moves innovative pain treatment toward market

Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, has granted Tonix Pharmaceutical exclusive worldwide rights to develop and commercialize PW507, a novel class of compounds created by researchers at Rutgers with the potential to transform pain management and reduce the opioid epidemic.

The agreement was executed by the Rutgers Office for Research Technology Transfer unit, underscoring the university’s commitment to moving groundbreaking innovations from lab to market, and Tonix’s dedication to developing non-addictive analgesics. Tonix Pharmaceuticals will subsequently rename it TNX-4900.

The compound was developed through a collaboration between Rutgers researchers William Welsh, PhD, Norman H. Edelman Professor in Bioinformatics in the Department of Pharmacology at Robert Wood Johnson Medical School and Associate Director, Division of Cheminformatics, Biomedical Informatics Shared Resource at Rutgers Cancer Institute, and Youyi Peng, PhD, who until recently was Senior Bioinformatics Specialist at the Rutgers Cancer Institute of New Jersey.

Peng and Welsh focused on the sigma-1 receptor (S1R), a molecular chaperone protein located in the endoplasmic reticulum and plasma membranes, which plays an important role in various pathological disorders, including pain. Thanks in part to a grant from the Office for Research’s TechAdvance™ fund, which provides financial support and business expertise to Rutgers researchers to advance promising technologies toward commercialization, they were able to develop PW507 (as well as other lead molecules) that proved to be antagonists to S1R, which meant that when paired with opioids, these compounds reduced opioid dosage as well as its adverse side effects.

“We used computer-aided and AI-driven approaches to design this new class of selective Sigma-1 receptor antagonists,” said Peng, who now serves as a consultant to Tonix. “TNX-4900 showed robust analgesic efficacy in multiple pain models and an encouraging safety profile, supporting its potential as a new non-opioid approach to treating neuropathic pain.”

“Our foundational research into TNX-4900 represents an important step toward developing non-opioid solutions for chronic pain. We are pleased to see this innovation progress toward potential clinical application, which could address a critical need for safer pain management options,” said Welsh.

“Rutgers researchers focus on finding answers to the issues that impact us all, and this discovery by Youyi Peng and William Welsh is emblematic of that fact,” said Michael E. Zwick, PhD, senior vice president for research. “Their invention has the potential to improve pain treatment while helping to decrease the rate of opioid dependency, and we look forward to seeing its positive impact on the world.”

“Sigma-1 receptor antagonism has generated considerable scientific interest as a promising class of non-opioid, non-addictive analgesics,” said Seth Lederman, MD, President and Chief Executive Officer of Tonix Pharmaceuticals. “With our extensive experience studying and developing an FDA approved non-opioid-analgesic, we are well-positioned to oversee this new development program. We believe TNX-4900 has the potential to be best-in-class.”

“The Technology Transfer and New Ventures units of the Office for Research are proud to have supported Youyi and William, from the TechAdvance® grant to establish feasibility and obtain proof-of-concept to the negotiation of the exclusive license between the university and Tonix Pharmaceuticals,” said Deborah Perez Fernandez, PhD, MBA, executive director of Technology Transfer. “We thank them for collaborating with us to move this innovation closer to where it can make a positive impact on the world.”

To learn more about how the Office for Research supports the commercialization and entrepreneurial efforts of Rutgers researchers, visit innovate.rutgers.edu.

* Tonix’s product development candidates are investigational new therapies; their efficacy and safety have not been established and have not been approved for any indication.