ABOUT NIRSUM
Nirsum Labs was founded in response to the US epidemic of opioid use disorder (OUD).
OUD is a chronic and typically relapsing condition. FDA-approved medication-assisted treatment (MAT) is the gold-standard therapy for OUD, alongside psychosocial support. While patient access to MAT is increasing, adherence and retention rates are poor, like with early HIV therapies. Nirsum is developing novel drugs to combat the OUD crisis, with potentially superior adherence, retention, and efficacy versus currently available MAT options, bringing urgently needed help to those in need.
LEADERSHIP
Nikej Shah, MD
Chief Executive Officer
Dr. Shah is Founder, CEO, interim Chief Medical Officer and Co-Inventor of Nirsum’s foundational intellectual property.
Michael Tusche, PhD
Chief Scientific Officer
Dr. Michael Tusche is Co-Founder, CSO, and Co-Inventor of Nirsum’s foundational intellectual property.
“[The opioid crisis] is the most profound public health crisis facing the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and Americans… One of the critical ways the FDA can play a role is by encouraging more widespread innovation and development of medication for use in medication-assisted treatments (MAT)” – Former US FDA Commissioner Dr. Scott Gottlieb
References:
- The Economist. Forecasting the Opioid Epidemic, https://www.economist.com/united-states/2017/10/28/forecasting-the-opioid-epidemic (October 28, 2017).
- Executive Office of the President of the United States. The Underestimated Cost of the Opioid Crisis,
https://www.whitehouse.gov/sites/whitehouse.gov/files/images/The%20Underestimated%20Cost%20of%20the%20Opioid%20Crisis.pdf (November 2017). - Project Know – Understanding Addiction. Cutting it Short.https://www.projectknow.com/discover/cutting-it-short (June 14, 2018)
- Saloner, B. & Karthikeyan, S. Changes in Substance Abuse Treatment Use Among Individuals With Opioid Use Disorders in the United States, 2004-2013. Jama 314, 1515-1517, doi:10.1001/jama.2015.10345 (2015).
- Morgan, J. R., Schackman, B. R., Leff, J. A., Linas, B. P. & Walley, A. Y. Injectable naltrexone, oral naltrexone, and buprenorphine utilization and discontinuation among individuals treated for opioid use disorder in a United States commercially insured population. Journal of substance abuse treatment 85, 90-96, doi:10.1016/j.jsat.2017.07.001 (2018).