Nutra Pharma Corp., a biotechnology company that is developing treatments for Adrenomyeloneuropathy (AMN), HIV and Multiple Sclerosis (MS), has announced that its wholly-owned drug discovery subsidiary, ReceptoPharm, has filed a patent application with the United States Patent and Trademark Office for the use of RPI-78 as a novel method for treating arthritis in humans. RPI-78 is ReceptoPharm's lead drug candidate being studied for the treatment of pain.

"In previous clinical studies, we and others have observed that peptides like RPI-78 have been effective in the management of pain with minimal side effects, almost no toxicity, and duration of effects considerably greater than that of morphine," explained Dr. Paul Reid, CEO of ReceptoPharm. "With our most recent research results, we have now confirmed that these proteins also contain anti-inflammatory properties as well, which may make them an effective therapy for treating arthritis," he added.

Arthritis comprises a group of degenerative joint diseases that affect approximately 46 million Americans, making it one of the most common causes of disability in the United States. Current treatments revolve around the use of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDS) to reduce inflammation and inflammatory pain. The recent application of monoclonal antibodies to control joint degeneration has been rapidly adopted. Biologic disease-modifying anti-rheumatic drugs (DMARDs) include Enbrel, Humira, and Remicade, but other medications may still be required to relieve pain or block the autoimmune response.

"For the past several years, many of the blockbuster drugs that have been approved for treating arthritis have later been pulled from the market or given black-box warnings due to significant safety concerns," commented Rik J Deitsch, chairman and CEO of Nutra Pharma Corporation. "The results from ReceptoPharm's recent study show that RPI-78 is unlikely to cause the serious side effects usually associated with monoclonal antibodies and leads us to believe that we are evaluating one of the most novel therapies currently in development for treating rheumatoid arthritis, juvenile rheumatoid arthritis and osteoarthritis," he concluded.

In addition to studying natural proteins for treating arthritis, ReceptoPharm recently completed its phase IIb/IIIa clinical study using its leading drug candidate, RPI-78M, for the treatment of Adrenomyeloneuropathy (AMN). Data from that trial is currently undergoing third-party validation in the United Kingdom. ReceptoPharm plans to release further information about the trial upon successful completion of the validation process.