RespireRx Pharmaceuticals Inc. (formerly Cortex Pharmaceuticals, Inc.) () is a pharmaceutical company based in
Glen Rock, New Jersey
Glen Rock is a borough in Bergen County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2020 United States census, the borough's population was 12,133, reflecting an increase of 532 (+4.6%) from the 11,601 counted in the 2010 census,allosteric modulators of the
AMPA receptor
The α-amino-3-hydroxy-5-methyl-4-isoxazolepropionic acid receptor (also known as AMPA receptor, AMPAR, or quisqualate receptor) is an ionotropic receptor, ionotropic transmembrane receptor for glutamate (iGluR) that mediates fast synapse, synap ...
known as
Ampakines
Ampakines, also stylized as AMPAkines, are a subgroup of AMPA receptor positive allosteric modulators with a benzamide or closely related chemical structure. They are also known as "CX compounds". Ampakines take their name from the AMPA receptor ...
.
History
In February 2005, Cortex received
U.S. Food and Drug Administration
The United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA or US FDA) is a federal agency of the Department of Health and Human Services. The FDA is responsible for protecting and promoting public health through the control and supervision of food ...
approval to begin Phase II
clinical trials
Clinical trials are prospective biomedical or behavioral research studies on human participants designed to answer specific questions about biomedical or behavioral interventions, including new treatments (such as novel vaccines, drugs, dietar ...
ADHD
Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is a neurodevelopmental disorder characterised by excessive amounts of inattention, hyperactivity, and impulsivity that are pervasive, impairing in multiple contexts, and otherwise age-inapp ...
and
Sleep disorders
A sleep disorder, or somnipathy, is a medical disorder of an individual's sleep patterns. Some sleep disorders are severe enough to interfere with normal physical, mental, social and emotional functioning. Polysomnography and actigraphy are tests ...
. In 2006, The FDA halted clinical trials for
CX717
CX717 is an ampakine compound created by Christopher Marrs and Gary Rogers in 1996 at Cortex Pharmaceuticals. It affects the neurotransmitter glutamate, with trials showing the drug improves cognitive functioning and memory.
Approval process
In ...
because they feared the drug was toxic. They later allowed testing to continue but at doses too low to have any effect. In July 2007, The FDA gave Cortex permission to continue with clinical trials for CX717, as a treatment for
Alzheimer's disease
Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a neurodegeneration, neurodegenerative disease that usually starts slowly and progressively worsens. It is the cause of 60–70% of cases of dementia. The most common early symptom is difficulty in short-term me ...
. In September 2007, Cortex filed with the FDA to test CX717 as a treatment for
ADHD
Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is a neurodevelopmental disorder characterised by excessive amounts of inattention, hyperactivity, and impulsivity that are pervasive, impairing in multiple contexts, and otherwise age-inapp ...
. In October 2007, Dr. Pierre Tran became Chief Medical Officer at Cortex after the FDA refused to let the company proceed with
Phase II clinical trials
The phases of clinical research are the stages in which scientists conduct experiments with a health intervention to obtain sufficient evidence for a process considered effective as a medical treatment. For drug development, the clinical phases ...
for CX717 as a treatment for ADHD. In March 2008, German regulators approved clinical studies for using CX717 to prevent breathing problems caused by
opiate
An opiate, in classical pharmacology, is a substance derived from opium. In more modern usage, the term ''opioid'' is used to designate all substances, both natural and synthetic, that bind to opioid receptors in the brain (including antagonis ...
pain-killers. In May 2008, President and
CEO
A chief executive officer (CEO), also known as a central executive officer (CEO), chief administrator officer (CAO) or just chief executive (CE), is one of a number of corporate executives charged with the management of an organization especially ...
Dr. Roger Stoll announced that he was resigning and would be replaced by Mark Varney.
On June 13, 2018, RespireRx Pharmaceuticals Inc. entered into a letter of intent with Noramco Inc., a producer of controlled substances bulk APIs for the pharmaceutical industry, pursuant to which the parties have entered into a 90-day period, during which they will negotiate a definitive agreement regarding the RespireRx’s development of
dronabinol
The International Nonproprietary Name Dronabinol, also known as delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol, or under the trade names Marinol, Syndros, Reduvo and Adversa, is a generic name for the molecule of delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol in the pharmaceutica ...
, a
synthetic cannabinoid
Synthetic cannabinoids are a class of designer drug molecules that bind to the same receptors to which cannabinoids (THC, CBD and many others) in cannabis plants attach. These novel psychoactive substances should not be confused with synthetic ...
, also known as Δ9-
tetrahydrocannabinol
Tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) is the principal psychoactive constituent of cannabis and one of at least 113 total cannabinoids identified on the plant. Although the chemical formula for THC (C21H30O2) describes multiple isomers, the term ''THC'' ...