Lightlake Therapeutics, Inc. (OTCQB: LLTP) is a specialty
pharmaceutical company engaged in the development of pharmacological treatments
for substance abuse, addiction and eating disorders. In December 2014, the
company entered into a global licensing deal with a subsidiary of Adapt Pharma
Limited to develop and commercialize Lightlake’s innovative intranasal naloxone
opioid overdose reversal treatment, NARCAN® Nasal Spray. As per the terms of
this deal, Lightlake could receive potential development and sales milestone
payments totaling more than $55 million – including a $2 million milestone
payment following FDA approval and a $2.5 million milestone payment following
the first commercial sale of NARCAN in the U.S. – in addition to double-digit
royalty fees.
In November 2015, NARCAN was approved by the U.S. Food and
Drug Administration for the emergency treatment of known or suspected opioid
overdose. This approval marked the first time that naloxone –the trusted choice
of healthcare providers to reverse the effects of opioid overdose for more than
40 years – was approved for distribution in the U.S. in a non-injection
delivery method. Since its approval, momentum to increase access to naloxone
has been on the rise. Late last year, President Obama included a call to make
naloxone more readily available as part of a major initiative to address the
nation’s opioid epidemic.
The commercial potential of NARCAN, to be marketed by Adapt,
is expansive. In 2013, opioid overdose related deaths claimed nearly 24,500
lives in the U.S., accounting for roughly 52 percent of all drug overdose
deaths, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. In total,
prescription opioid abuse costs accounted for approximately $55.7 billion in
2007, with about 45 percent of all spending attributed to healthcare expenses.
In addition to its efforts to address the domestic opioid
crisis, Lightlake has also completed a phase II clinical trial for its naloxone
nasal spray to treat binge eating disorder (BED), a condition resulting in a
lack of control when eating foods that are high in sugar, fat or salt.
According to clinical data, the company’s nasal spray is well-suited to
treating BED because it remains in the brain for two hours – the duration of a
typical binge – without inducing negative side effects, such as a loss of interest
in exercise, which are common with long-lasting opioid antagonists like
naltrexone and nalmefene. Lightlake has also announced plans to conduct a
Cocaine Use Disorder study in collaboration with the National Institute of Drug
Abuse in the future.
With President Obama allocating $133 million toward the
opioid epidemic in 2016 and guidelines from the Department of Health suggesting
that naloxone could eventually become a standard script accompanying the more
than 240 million opioid prescriptions written every year in the U.S.,
Lightlake, through its licensing deal with Adapt, is well positioned to record
strong financial growth in the months to come. Look for the company to benefit
from royalties stemming from this licensing agreement as it continues to
advance its promising clinical pipeline targeting the treatment of BED and
cocaine use disorder.
For more information, visit www.lightlaketherapeutics.com
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