Synthesis of Carbamathione, a Potential Anti-Alcohol Agent

Alcohol use disorder (AUD) affect about one in seven Americans in a one-year period, with problem drinking in the US annually accounting for about 88,000 deaths and societal costs of over $249 billion. Despite the alarming morbidity and mortality associated with AUD, in the last 70 years only three pharmacotherapeutic agents have been FDA-approved for AUD treatment, disulfiram (DSF), naltrexone (oral & injectable), and acamprosate.

This project is the development of a promising candidate molecule known as carbamathione for the treatment of alcohol use disorder (AUD). Carbamathione is a unique molecule that is a metabolite of a well- known treatment for AUD called disulfiram that may target key circuitry in the brain that is out of balance in AUD, and may be significantly safer than disulfiram. The project will develop the manufacturing of sufficient quantities of carbamathione in the first phase to enable pre-clinical toxicology testing in the second phase that is necessary before first testing in humans can occur under FDA guidance as an Investigational New Drug.