Rutgers startup Zena Therapeutics is working to develop safer medications that would minimize or even eliminate overdoses from prescription drugs used in mental health treatment. “We believe that it is feasible and possible to design drugs and medications where death is not the end result of misuse, whether it’s accidental or on purpose as recreationally,” said Chief Executive Officer Ariane Vasilatis, who earned her doctoral degree in plant science in 2021 from Rutgers School of Environmental and Biological Sciences and cofounded the company with fellow alumnus Elieen Carry.
Their innovation was developed at Rutgers: a novel compound that does not increase the risk of overdose if taken with other depressants such as opioids or alcohol.
“Right now, when it comes to narcotics drugs, the onus is on the patient to take the medication as prescribed, but that is not a guarantee,” said Carry, who graduated with her doctoral degree from the Ernest Mario School of Pharmacy’ Department of Medicinal Chemistry in 2021 and now serves as the company’s chief scientific officer. “We hope to shift the paradigm to substantially reduce overdose risk without compromising efficacy.” To read the full story.