BELLEFONTE, PA, August 6, 2024 – Treating alcohol misuse remains a major challenge worldwide.  Given the diverse biological processes that contribute to alcohol use disorder, new medications are needed to provide a broader spectrum of treatment options. Some people may respond to a medication that helps with craving, others may respond to a medication that relieves impulsivity, others may respond to a medication that reverses the negative emotional state of withdrawal or protracted withdrawal. Just like any other medical condition, people with alcohol use disorder deserve to have a range of treatment options available to them. Scientists are working to develop a larger menu of pharmaceutical treatments that could be tailored to individual needs.

Actuated Medical’s innovative NeuralGlider Injector will enable the delivery of next-generation medications into small targets deep in the brain, to fundamentally change the trajectory of alcohol use disorder and improve outcomes.  The goal is to deliver a therapeutic that will damp down cravings enough for other therapies to have a chance to work.  The therapeutic gets delivered accurately to the target and stays there.

Actuated Medical, Inc. has been awarded a $3 million pre-clinical Phase II Small Business Innovative Research (SBIR) grant from the National Institutes of Health-National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism to develop the “Oscillated Insertion Tool for Minimally Invasive, Low-Damage, Accurate Placement of Delivery Cannula to Improve Efficacy for DREADDS (designer receptors exclusively activated by designer drugs) Therapy in Alcohol Addiction Treatment” which will be commercially recognized as the NeuralGlider Injector.  

“Many of us know someone who is dealing with an alcohol addiction and have felt helpless as we watched them suffer. That is why we are so excited to develop and commercialize our NeuralGlider Injector technology as it may one day help to offer a more effective treatment option for those afflicted with alcohol use disorder.” Maureen L. Mulvihill, Ph.D., Actuated Medical President, CEO, & Co-Founder.