Nutra Pharma Corp., a biotechnology company that is developing drugs for HIV and multiple sclerosis, has announced that its wholly-owned drug discovery subsidiary, ReceptoPharm, Inc., has renewed its collaborative agreement with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to study RPI-78M and RPI-MN as a possible therapy for rabies.

RPI-78M is ReceptoPharm's leading drug candidate for the treatment of autoimmune and neurological disorders and RPI-MN is ReceptoPharm's leading antiviral drug candidate.

"This collaboration with the CDC allows us to analyze various formulas for both RPI-78M and RPI-MN as possible treatments for rabies," explained Paul Reid, CEO of ReceptoPharm. "Our goal with this study is to better understand the mechanism of action of our leading drug candidates and to determine their potential for treating advanced rabies infections," he concluded.

Rabies is a virus that infects the central nervous system and is characterized by inflammation in the brain (encephalitis). The virus is most often transmitted through the bite of a rabid animal, which commonly include raccoons, foxes and bats. Currently there is a post-exposure vaccination available to people exposed to rabies. If left untreated, rabies is fatal. According to the World Health Organization, as many as 55,000 people worldwide die annually from rabies infections.

Nutra Pharma Corp. is a biopharmaceutical company specializing in the acquisition, licensing and commercialization of pharmaceutical products and technologies for the management of neurological disorders, cancer, autoimmune and infectious diseases.