Phoenix PharmaLabs Secures $1.1M Funding to Advance Non-Addictive Opioid Alternative PPL-103

VCBeat (WeChat Official Account: vcbeat) learned from foreign media that on April 10 (U.S. local time), biopharmaceutical company Phoenix PharmaLabs completed a $1.1 million financing round. The proceeds from this round will be used to support the company’s development of PPL-103, a novel opioid analgesic, thereby reducing human dependence on painkillers.

It is reported that Netcapital led this round of financing.

Phoenix PharmaLabs, established in 2002 and headquartered in Utah, USA, is a privately held preclinical-stage drug development company dedicated to the research and development of novel non-addictive analgesic drugs and new therapies for opioid use disorder.

According to reports from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), mortality rates from all serious diseases have declined over the past decade; however, mortality due to prescription opioid misuse has risen sharply since 1990. More than 2 million Americans have developed severe dependence on opioids. Potent opioid analgesics currently used in medical practice, such as morphine, oxycodone, hydrocodone, methadone, and fentanyl, bind to opioid receptors in the brain and disrupt endogenous hormone levels associated with these receptors. This leads to receptor dependence on the analgesics and results in severe side effects. For instance, two-thirds of patients experience nausea and vomiting when initiating morphine therapy, with symptoms lasting approximately seven days. In severe cases, excessive use of analgesics can lead to death.

Phoenix PharmaLabs has developed a novel opioid drug, PPL-103, which binds to the three opioid receptors in the human brain: mu, kappa, and delta. Upon administration, PPL-103 alleviates pain by binding to these three opioid receptors. Unlike conventional potent morphine-like analgesics, PPL-103 provides pain relief while maintaining the activity of opioid receptors and does not disrupt the endogenous hormone levels associated with the mu, kappa, and delta receptors. This mechanism helps prevent dependence on the analgesic in the human brain and reduces the side effects of pharmacological treatment.

PPL-103 has the following characteristics: potent analgesic efficacy (approximately 10 times that of morphine), non-addictive, limited respiratory depression in patients, no risk of fatal overdose, and suitability for oral administration (whereas morphine-like drugs can only be administered by injection).

Furthermore, PPL-103 also demonstrates efficacy in preventing cocaine addiction. By maintaining the activity of opioid receptors in the human brain without causing adverse effects, PPL-103 can gradually restore hormonal levels associated with opioid receptors through receptor binding when patients develop dependence on cocaine, thereby reducing the body’s craving for cocaine-like substances. Compared with conventional detoxification methods, PPL-103 alleviates patient suffering and enables a more scientific approach to drug rehabilitation.

Netcapital, established in 2014, is a venture capital firm dedicated to supporting the growth of early-stage companies. Netcapital has built a secure trading platform that enhances transparency in private transactions. Beyond providing investment, Netcapital leverages professional management expertise to help startups develop. Furthermore, with a broad investment scope, Netcapital aims to introduce more innovative products to the market.

(Compiled by Liu Yujing)