Sonoran Biosciences has received a Phase 2 SBIR award from the National Institutes of Health for $2.49 million
TEMPE, Ariz., Jan. 2, 2025 — Sonoran Biosciences, a preclinical-stage pharmaceutical company developing innovative hospital-based products for the treatment of surgical site infections and postoperative pain, has been awarded a $2,489,184 Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase II grant by the National Institute of General Medical Sciences of the National Institutes of Health. The project’s title is “Extended-release injectable gel for multi-day treatment of postoperative pain.”
The project is focused on continuing development of SBG004, an extended-release formulation of bupivacaine using Sonoran’s SB Gel, as a best-in-class extended-release local anesthetic for treatment of acute postoperative pain lasting at least 72 hr, building upon a Phase I SBIR project which began in 2022. Preliminary data from the Phase I project indicate that SBG004 provided extended release in vivo for at least seven days, outperformed plain local anesthetics and current extended release competing products in soft and hard tissue models of pain for 72-96 hr, and was well-tolerated both locally and systemically. The major goals of this new Phase II project are to: i) compare bupivacaine distribution in tissue provided by SBG004 and competing products; ii) complete dose range finding toxicity studies; iii) manufacture SBG004 at scale to support definitive nonclinical toxicology studies; and iv) complete toxicity and cardiopulmonary safety studies on SBG004.
About Sonoran Biosciences
Sonoran Biosciences, Inc. is a privately held specialty pharmaceutical company developing sustained release formulations for the treatment of postoperative pain and surgical site infection (SSI). Sonoran’s products are based on its proprietary SB Gel, an injectable carrier that forms a solid gel in the body, releases drugs over multiple days, and dissolves after the drugs are released. Sonoran’s lead products are SBG004, a long-acting formulation of bupivacaine for postoperative pain, and SBG003, a fixed-dose combination of tobramycin and vancomycin for surgical site infection.
The content of this article is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the National Institutes of Health.