Pantherics received a Phase I Bridge Award from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee Research Foundation (UWM-RF) to advance clinical trial planning for its lead drug candidate PI301 (aka MIDD0301). Pantherics holds a worldwide, exclusive license to PI301 and related compound patents from the UWM-RF, which originated from the academic laboratory directed by Prof. Alexander Arnold at UWM’s Milwaukee Institute for Drug Discovery. Pantherics is at the forefront of developing drugs, such as PI301, that modulate peripheral GABAA receptors (GABAAR) for the treatment of inflammatory and smooth muscle disorders. This platform technology and new therapeutic category offer a fundamentally novel and safe mechanism of drug action for inflammatory disease treatment, with applications in pulmonary, gastrointestinal tract, dermatology, and urinary tract disorders. Pantherics’ lead indication for PI-301 is an oral medication (daily use instead of inhalers or injected drugs) to control inflammation and bronchospasm in persistent asthma and COPD and secondarily for nebulized delivery to relieve acute asthma exacerbations. “We are grateful for the continuing financial support from the UWM-RF as we move PI-301 toward clinical trials,” said Dr. Douglas Stafford, Pantherics CEO.