Opiant Pharmaceuticals, Inc. has signed an agreement with Sanofi to manufacture Opiant’s investigational agent OPNTOO4 (drinabant) for the treatment of Acute Cannabinoid Overdose (ACO). Currently, there are currently no approved treatments for ACO.
 
Opiant intends to reformulate drinabant, a high affinity, selective cannabinoid receptor antagonist, for parenteral administration in an emergency department setting. Opiant licensed exclusive global rights from Sanofi for the development and commercialization of drinabant for the emergency treatment of ACO. 
 
It is estimated that ACO resulted in more than one million emergency department visits in the United States in 2016, and is expected to rise with increasing legalization of cannabis in North America. 
 
“This agreement marks an important milestone in our partnership with Sanofi and the OPNT004 development program and supply chain,” said Roger Crystal, M.D., Chief Executive Officer of Opiant. “This further enhances our position as a leader in developing medicines for the treatment of addiction and drug overdose.”