Sparian Biosciences Urges U.S. Senate to Support NIH’s Fight Against Substance Abuse

Sparian Biosciences, Inc. (“Sparian”) submitted testimony on May 23, 2024, urging the United States Senate to provide the National Institutes of Health (NIH) with the resources to combat the substance abuse epidemic, which claimed 107,543 American lives in 2023.¹

Sparian Biosciences is a clinical stage biopharmaceutical company at the forefront of developing innovative treatments to end this public health crisis. Sparian currently has four leading drug development programs for substance use disorders (SUD) and non-opioid based pain management. First off, Sparian’s AEAr agonists (SBS-1000 and SBS-147) are first-in-class drug candidates that offer an alternative to opioids for long-term pain management. Sparian’s second program (SBS-226) is a pre-clinical drug candidate that has potential to treat opioid use disorders, which if successful, would provide clinicians with a new pharmacological treatment alongside buprenorphine and methadone. Sparian is also developing a third drug candidate (SBS-371) that has the potential to revolutionize how first responders reverse drug overdoses from fentanyl and other powerful synthetic opioids. Lastly, Sparian is addressing a critical unmet need in the SUD space; the company is developing a therapeutic (SBS-518) for stimulant use disorders to help those seeking treatment for illicit drug use such as methamphetamine and cocaine.

Sparian stands apart from other biotechs for its prodigious collaboration with NIH. This public-private partnership has helped advance new non-opioid pain management therapies (SBS-1000 and SBS-147), a novel drug for use in medication-assisted treatment (SBS-226), and a new stimulant use disorder medication (SBS-518). NIH has been able to support Sparian’s lifesaving research through its Helping to End Addiction Long-Term (HEAL) Initiative.

The HEAL Initiative supports nearly 1,800 SUD prevention, treatment and recovery programs across all 50 States. NIH’s HEAL Initiative has historically received strong bipartisan support from congressional lawmakers.

To that end, Sparian submitted testimony to the U.S. Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services, Education and Related Agencies—the Senate panel responsible for NIH’s budget—urging it to continue its longstanding support for the lifesaving HEAL Initiative. Sparian also encouraged the panel to direct NIH’s newest agency, the Advanced Research Project Agency for Health (ARPA-H), to include SUD projects in its mission given the SUD crisis deleterious effects on American communities.

Sparian’s testimony is provided below. For inquiries about this release, please contact Sahil Chaudhary at sahil@sparianbiosciences.com

The Honorable Tammy Baldwin
Chairwoman
Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services, and Related Agencies
Committee on Appropriations
United States Senate
Washington, DC 20510

The Honorable Shelly Moore Capito
Ranking Member
Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services, and Related Agencies
Committee on Appropriations
United States Senate
Washington, DC 20510

Dear Chairwoman Baldwin and Ranking Member Moore Capito:

Sparian Biosciences is grateful for the opportunity to comment on the President’s Fiscal Year (FY) 2025 budget proposal for the National Institutes of Health (NIH), an agency that is at the forefront of addressing the substance use disorder (SUD) epidemic.

By the way of background, Sparian Biosciences is a clinical stage biopharmaceutical company that is developing four novel therapeutics to address drug abuse and chronic pain. Sparian’s AEAr agonists (SBS-1000 and SBS-147) are first-in-class drug candidates that offer a non-opioid treatment for patients requiring long-term pain management. The company’s second program (SBS-226) is a pre-clinical drug candidate that has potential to treat opioid use disorders, which if successful, would provide clinicians with a new pharmacological treatment alongside buprenorphine and methadone. Sparian is also developing a third drug candidate (SBS-371) that has the potential to revolutionize how first responders reverse drug overdoses from fentanyl and other powerful synthetic opioids. Lastly, Sparian is addressing a critical unmet need in the SUD space; the company is developing a therapeutic (SBS-518) for stimulant use disorders to help those seeking treatment for illicit drug use such as methamphetamine and cocaine. Sparian is working hand-and-glove with NIH to expeditiously develop these lifesaving treatments that will end the SUD epidemic, which claimed 107,543 American lives in 2023.²

To that end, we respectfully request that you consider the following appropriations requests that will provide NIH with the tools and resources to continue its fight against the SUD public health crisis:

1. Increase funding for NIH’s Helping to End Addiction Long-Term (HEAL) Initiative: The HEAL Initiative is one of the federal government’s largest commitments to address the SUD crisis. This multi-faceted program supports nearly 1,800 projects across all 50 States, including your home States of Wisconsin and West Virginia. As of NIH’s most recent funding data, Wisconsin has received nearly 11 HEAL grants to support research into new SUD treatments and West Virginia has received 4 HEAL grants to build SUD prevention and treatment capabilities.³ The President’s budget calls for flat funding for the NIH HEAL Initiative, which given the U.S.’ healthcare inflation rate of nearly 3%, amounts to a funding cut in real terms. Should this cut be enacted, it could hamper the ability of clinicians, advocates, researchers, among other frontline workers to continue their efforts to prevent and treat SUDs.
2. Encourage ARPA-H to prioritize programs focused on preventing and treating SUDs: The Advanced Research Projects Agency for Health (ARPA-H) has the potential to catalyze research in disease areas that exact a significant human and financial toll on Americans. Despite a current Public Health Emergency declaration for the SUD crisis,⁴ ARPA-H has not mobilized resources to accelerate innovations in this space. We urge you to add appropriations language directing the agency to formulate a grant strategy to provide resources to scientists and researchers developing novel therapeutics to address SUDs.

Thank you for your consideration of these requests and your public health leadership. Sparian Biosciences shares your mission of ending the SUD public health crisis that has claimed far too many lives and hurt millions of American families from every walk of life.

References

1. U.S. Overdose Deaths Decrease in 2023, First Time Since 2018 (cdc.gov)
2. U.S. Overdose Deaths Decrease in 2023, First Time Since 2018 (cdc.gov)
3. Funded Projects | NIH HEAL Initiative
4. List of Public Health Emergency Declarations (hhs.gov)