Embera NeuroTherapeutics is a development stage pharmaceutical company based in Shreveport that is focused on developing treatments for smoking cessation, cocaine dependence, and other addictions. The company announced the completion of its Series B financing, which will fund initial EMB-001 Phase 2 clinical studies.
The company also recently received two grant awards that will contribute to the clinical studies, one focused on smoking cessation and the other on cocaine use disorder. The National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health (NIDA) granted the final portion of its three-year grant, totaling $11.1 million. The Rose Research Center (RRC) was responsible for the second grant.
“The grant awards from NIDA and RRC as well as the continued support from our investors, particularly those in Louisiana, put our drug on the path to potentially change addiction treatment,” said Bob Linke, President and CEO of Embera.
The novel drug combination EMB-001 was licensed from the LSU Health Sciences Center in Shreveport. The drug targets specific brain functions related to stress responses. Embera plans to begin dosing their subjects within the next few months.