MEB-1170

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Wikipedia

MEB-1170
Clinical data
Other namesMEB1170
Routes of
administration		Oral[1]
Drug classμ-Opioid receptor biased agonist; κ-Opioid receptor agonist; Analgesic; Opioid replacement
ATC code
  • None

MEB-1170 is an atypical opioid receptor modulator which is under development for the treatment of pain and opioid use disorder.[1][2][3][4][5] It is a highly biased agonist of the μ-opioid receptor (MOR)[3] and appears to be biased for activation of G protein signaling over β-arrestin recruitment.[6] Aside from the fact that it is a MOR biased agonist, the drug is said to be a MOR full agonist as well as a κ-opioid receptor (KOR) partial agonist and to have a unique pharmacological profile.[5] It is taken orally.[1]

The drug produces robust analgesia in several assays similarly to morphine in rodents.[3][4][6][5][7] However, in contrast to other MOR agonists like morphine and oliceridine, MEB-1170 is said to have not produced analgesic tolerance, sedation, respiratory depression, rewarding effects, or reinforcing effects and to have shown only minimal withdrawal symptoms.[3][4][6][5][7] In addition, unlike morphine, but similarly to oliceridine, it negligibly affected gastrointestinal transit, a measure of constipation-like effect.[3][4][6] As such, the drug is claimed to have greatly improved tolerability, safety, and misuse liability relative to conventional opioids like morphine.[3][4][6][5] The toxicokinetics of MEB-1170 in rats and dogs have been described.[8][9] It has a longer duration than morphine in rodents.[3]

MEB-1170 was first described in the news media in 2017[4] and in the scientific literature in 2018.[3] It is being developed by Mebias Discovery.[1][10][4] As of April 2023, the drug is in phase 1 clinical trials for treatment of pain and opioid use disorder.[1][10] It is being developed for both prevention and treatment of opioid use disorder.[1][7][5] A phase 1 dose-ascending trial has been completed as of October 2024.[8] Mebias Discovery has received ongoing grant funding from the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) for the development of MEB-1170.[7][6][5] The chemical structure of MEB-1170 does not yet appear to have been disclosed.[1][3]

See also

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 "MEB 1170". AdisInsight. 4 April 2023. Retrieved 1 January 2026.
  2. ↑ Huang C, Liu B, Xie S, Zhang Y, Liu K, Qiu Y, et al. (2025). "Evaluating the Opioid-Related Adverse Events of Oliceridine Versus Conventional Opioids in Patient-Controlled Analgesia After Thoracoscopic Lung Resection: A Retrospective Cohort Study". Drug Design, Development and Therapy. 19: 5929–5939. doi:10.2147/DDDT.S532778. PMC 12258402. PMID 40661828. Preclinical data as early as 2013 demonstrated that TRV130 (Oliceridine) is a biased ligand with differentiated pharmacology, successfully translating evidence that analgesic and adverse MOR signaling pathways are distinct.21 Other biased opioids such as MEB-1166, MEB-1170, and PZM21 have become the current trend in the development of analgesic drugs.7,22
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Tounge B, Bayoumy S, Besthof R, Dax S, Kuo L, Barrett J (2018). "Novel, highly biased mu opioid receptor compounds minus side effects for the treatment of pain". The Journal of Pain. 19 (3): S82. doi:10.1016/j.jpain.2017.12.199. Retrieved 1 January 2026.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Idrus AA (19 October 2017). "Mebias' mu opioids best morphine, Trevena drug in preclinical studies". Fierce Biotech. Retrieved 1 January 2026. The studies were conducted in rats and pitted Mebias' mu opioids, dubbed MEB-1166 and MEB-1170, against morphine and Trevena's mu opioid, oliceridine. The data showed that Mebias' compounds did not cause respiratory depression, slow or ineffective breathing, even at high doses, while both morphine and oliceridine did. The results also showed that both candidates alleviated pain without causing sleepiness or constipation. A study looking at addiction potential found that MEB-1170 "induced no reward or liking behavior," according to the company. Mebias plans to bring these candidates into clinical development and to partner with other biopharma players in the future.
  5. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 "MEB-1170: A New Chemical Entity for the Treatment of Opioid Use Disorder". RePORT ⟩ RePORTER. Retrieved 2 January 2026. Mebias Discovery, Inc. is developing a new chemical entity, MEB-1170, to treat Opioid Use Disorder (OUD) as a maintenance medication. Currently, all of the FDA-approved medications for treating OUD (MOUD) – buprenorphine, methadone, and naltrexone – come with liabilities (abuse potential, medication diversion, need for detoxification prior to administration, risk of respiratory depression, etc.) and ~50% of patients discontinue treatment after 6 months.1,2 MEB-1170 is a full mu opioid receptor agonist and partial kappa opioid receptor agonist that has a unique pharmacological profile. Specifically, it produces a robust analgesic response that is mediated through mu opioid receptors but has no abuse liability as measured in multiple preclinical assays (conditioned place preference, intravenous drug self-administration, drug discrimination) and no typical opioid-related adverse effects such as respiratory depression, constipation, and sedation. A Phase 1 Single Ascending Dose study supported its safety and tolerability in healthy adult volunteers. [...] Our overarching goal is to develop MEB-1170 as a safe and effective MOUD to prevent relapse and facilitate long-term recovery.
  6. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "Biased Mu-Opioid Receptor Analgesics to Prevent Overdose and Opioid Use Disorders". RePORT ⟩ RePORTER. Retrieved 1 January 2026. Advances in our understanding of the pharmacological mechanisms associated with signaling of G-protein coupled receptors have resulted in the knowledge that activation of the mu-opioid receptor (MOR) mediates both the therapeutic and adverse effects and does so through pharmacologically distinct signaling pathways. The adverse effects associated with morphine and other MOR agonists have been traced to action through the β-arrestin pathway, while analgesia is tied to the G-protein pathway. G-protein specific agonists that avoid activation of β-arrestin signaling and its associated negative consequences provide novel strategies for the development of pathway specific or 'biased' drugs designed to selectively produce analgesia while eliminating unwanted adverse effects that include respiratory depression, abuse liability, and constipation. Mebias Discovery, Inc. has developed a novel platform and has identified highly 'biased' MOR agonists that are effective analgesics but are devoid of opioid induced adverse effects. Mebias' preclinical studies of its IND candidate MEB-1170 has shown efficacy in 3 pain models without the known opioid adverse effects (respiratory depression, tolerance to analgesia, sedation, constipation) shown by marketed MOR drugs. In addition, MEB-1170 shows promise in abuse liability models (self-administration, drug discrimination, condition place preference, withdrawal) suggesting it could be a game changer as a non-addictive analgesic to replace Scheduled II opioids in pain management.
  7. 1 2 3 4 "Mebias Discovery Receives Grant from NIDA to Advance MEB-1170 as an Analgesic Drug Candidate for the Prevention and Treatment of Opioid Use Disorder". BioSpace. 29 October 2020. Retrieved 1 January 2026.
  8. 1 2 Kousba AA, Cherup WN, Bayoumy S, Kuo L, Tounge B, Reines S (22 October 2024). (T1230-02-11) Toxicokinetics of MEB-1170, a mu-Opioid Receptor Agonist, in Rats in a 28-Day Oral Toxicity Study. 2024 PharmSci 360.
  9. ↑ Kousba AA, Cherup WN, Bayoumy S, Kuo L, Tounge B (23 October 2024). (W0930-02-09) Toxicokinetics of MEB-1170, a mu-Opioid Receptor Agonist, in Dogs in a 28-Day Oral Toxicity Study. 2024 PharmSci 360.
  10. 1 2 "Delving into the Latest Updates on MEB-1170 with Synapse". Synapse. 8 May 2025. Retrieved 1 January 2026.