For WisBusiness.com

HEADLINE: “Addiction Therapeutix aspires to find compounds that break drug and drinking cycle”

By Krystal Arendt

Millions of people around the world have a physical dependence on harmful substances. Prominent examples range from sports stars to entertainment celebrities to, in Wisconsin, a state legislator who has been arrested five times for driving under the influence.

Addiction is a disease that affects the brain and the behavior of a person. In the United States alone, about 18 million people are dependent on alcohol, 1.3 million people are addicted to opioids such as pain relievers, and roughly 29 percent of the population is addicted to nicotine.

That is where Addiction Therapeutix, Inc comes in. Working with the UW-Milwaukee Research foundation and the Medical College of Wisconsin, it has begun development of compounds that will safely and effectively become drugs to treat alcoholism, nicotine, and opioid addiction.

It is one of 40 companies that will be presenting to investors at the Wisconsin Early Stage Symposium at the Monona Terrace Convention Center, Nov. 10-11. The company is seeking $2 million in capital.

Current methods for combating substance abuse are frequently ineffective. Many patients become dependent on the very substances used in the treatment of their addiction. One of the most relevant examples is the drug methadone, which is used to combat dependence of opioids like morphine or heroin. Methadone is also an opioid and can have severe side effects. 

One of the most exciting compounds under development by Addiction Therapeutix is a dextro-morphine, which does not appear to have any affinity for the opioid receptors. Many drugs are addictive because they bind to opioid receptors that occur naturally in the body. This binding can relieve pain and can cause a sense of relief, but at the same time, it makes the brain think it needs this substance.

The lack of opioid affinity allows the compound to be non-addictive, with little or no toxicity, unlike the products on the market now used to treat dependence of opioid substances.

Frank Langley, the founder of Addiction Theraputix Inc., is no stranger to the business. He is a serial entrepreneur in the life science industry, with 25 years of experience ranging from start-ups to Fortune 500 companies.  

Langley said business and personal motivations are behind the creation of Addiction Therapeutix. He’s passionate about treating and even breaking additions, and he also sees a high rate of return for investors if the right compounds are developed and reach what is, unfortunately, a growing market.

Addiction Therapeutix will work with a very minimal infrastructure and will operate as a semi-virtual company. Much of the work will be contracted to research companies, regulatory experts, and manufacturing whenever possible. This will likely minimize costs for the company and it will ensure expert advice.

Langley said contracting will hold down fixed costs, raise quality and ensure rapid results.

“And from an altruistic standpoint,” Langley said, “(investors) can invest in something they feel good about.”

Arendt is a student in the UW-Madison Department of Life Sciences Communication.

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