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Research grant -- >>> Cortex Pharmaceuticals, Inc. Announces Partnership With the Knowledge Translation Strategy Unit of the Canadian Institutes of Health Research on the Use of Ampakines in the Alleviation of Respiratory Depression


Company Focusing on Strategic Research Initiatives Involving Respiratory Disorders



Cortex Pharmaceuticals, Inc.

June 30, 2015



http://finance.yahoo.com/news/cortex-pharmaceuticals-inc-announces-partnership-130000677.html



NJ--(Marketwired - Jun 30, 2015) - Cortex Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (OTCQB: CORX) ("Cortex" or the "Company") is a leader in developing drugs for respiratory disorders, particularly sleep apneas and drug-induced respiratory depression. The Company owns patents and patent applications for certain families of chemical compounds that claim the chemical structures and their use in the treatment of various disorders. These patents cover, among other compounds, the Company's lead ampakines CX1739 and CX1942 and extend through at least 2028.

Preclinical and clinical research results have demonstrated the effectiveness of Cortex's ampakines in the treatment of respiratory depression associated with opiate overdose, anesthesia, apnea, spinal injury, and genetic disorders such as Pompé Disease. Through collaboration with John Greer, Ph.D., Chairman of the Company's Scientific Advisory Board and Professor of Physiology and AIHS Senior Scientist with the Neuroscience and Mental Health Institute at the University of Alberta, a research grant has been awarded by the Canadian Institutes of Health Research in the approximate amount of C$145,000 to partially fund the development of CX1942 and related compounds for the alleviation of various forms of respiratory depression. As the Principal Investigator, Dr. Greer will be heading the research and development effort.

"This funding from the Canadian Institutes of Health Research is an important step in advancing our translational pre-clinical laboratory research," said Dr. Greer. "This is a particularly exciting time for these ampakine projects as we widen the scope of potential clinical applications."

"Dr. Greer's research on respiratory depression has been the foundation for the Company's commitment to basic research and development of drugs to treat respiratory disorders," said Richard Purcell, Sr. VP R&D for Cortex. "Because of Dr. Greer's discoveries on the molecular basis of respiration, and the ability of ampakines to modulate respiratory drive, Cortex has a pipeline of oral and injectable drugs, including CX1739 and CX1942, which have shown the ability to alleviate respiratory depression. Our compounds in development potentially offer the medical community and patients novel therapies to treat the breathing problems associated with disease, brain and spinal cord injuries, as well as pain relief treatments."

About Cortex Pharmaceuticals, Inc.

Cortex Pharmaceuticals, Inc. is a biopharmaceutical company currently engaged in the discovery and development of drugs for the treatment of respiratory disorders. Drug candidates are currently derived from two platforms, as described below.

The first platform is a class of compounds known as ampakines that act as positive allosteric modulators of AMPA glutamate receptors. Several ampakines in both oral and injectable form are being developed by Cortex for the treatment of drug induced respiratory depression caused by opiates and anesthetics. In preclinical and clinical studies, such drugs have shown preliminary efficacy in central sleep apnea and in restoring normal respiration without altering the analgesic effects of opiates or the anesthetic effects of drugs such as propofol. The Company's compounds belong to a new generation of ampakines that do not display the undesirable side effects displayed by previous compounds.

The second platform is the class of compounds known as cannabinoids, in particular, dronabinol. In a double-blind, placebo-controlled, dose-ascending Phase 2A clinical study conducted by the Company, dronabinol significantly improved measures of sleep apnea in a group of patients with obstructive sleep apnea. A larger 120 patient, double-blind, placebo-controlled Phase 2B study is currently being conducted by the University of Illinois and is being funded by the National Institutes of Health.

Additional information about Cortex and the matters discussed herein can be obtained on the Company's web-site at www.cortexpharm.com or in the Company's filings on EDGAR at www.sec.gov.

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