NRx Defense Systems, an NRx Company (Nasdaq:NRXP) Awarded $11 Million Dollar DARPA Prime Contract to Evaluate Robotic Magnetic Stimulation in conjunction with NRX-101 for Treatment of Resistant Depression
Key Highlights
- ➤DARPA awards NRx Defense Systems (NRXP) an initial $11,177,757.27 prime contract
- ➤SPARC-TMS trial receives FDA approval and begins enrolling patients
- ➤Single-day robotic TMS plus NRX-101 targets treatment-resistant depression
- ➤Trial could support FDA registration for NRX-101 with TMS
- ➤Prior TMS plus D-cycloserine data showed 91% response and 69% remission at three months
Expert Statements
Dennis McBride, Dr. and NRx Defense Systems executive
“I am delighted to unite with my former colleagues at DARPA to reinvent the paradigm for treating depression and suicidality for all Americans”
Dennis McBride, Dr. and NRx Defense Systems executive
“During my time at DARPA we advanced cognitive-based artificial intelligence with the ambition to use advanced computational techniques to solve humanity’s greatest challenges. It is inspiring to be part of this AI-empowered mission because it will save countless lives.”
Joshua Brown, Dr. and NRx Defense Systems Chief Medical Innovation Officer
“The chance to see fundamental research mature from my laboratory to a technology that has the potential to save lives and end suffering is the dream of any physician scientist”
Joshua Brown, Dr. and NRx Defense Systems Chief Medical Innovation Officer
“while success is far from guaranteed in any clinical trial, DARPA has a long track record of supporting pioneering efforts with far-reaching impact, and their support gives us the strongest possible foundation for success.”
* DARPA states that the program, if successful, will fundamentally change the Standard of Care for Treatment Resistant Depression. The Military has recognized that current treatments for depression are not deployable in operational military settings. * The SPARC-TMS Single Day treatment protocol, which involves the use of Robotic Neuronavigated Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (TMS) augmented by NRx’s neuroplastic investigational drug NRX-101, is based on a recently completed randomized-controlled trial funded by DARPA and published real world findings of 91% treatment response and 69% remission at 3 months post treatment with traditional TMS + D-cycloserine (an active ingredient of NRX-101). * If the above results are replicated in the SPARC-TMS trial, it has the potential to serve as an FDA registration study for approval of NRX-101 in conjunction with TMS for people with Treatment Resistant Depression * NRx Defense Systems is partnered with HOPE Therapeutics (an NRx sister company), Harvard Medical School’s McLean Hospital, Arizona State University, Zeta Surgical Systems, and Neurocare of America. * Plans are underway to expand the SPARC-TMS trial to leading military hospitals. * NRx Defense systems is led by a team of former senior military officers and former employees of the Office of the Secretary of Defense with advanced degrees in medicine, psychology, and data science. MIAMI, Sept. 30, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- NRx Defense Systems, (“NRx Defense”, “NRXD” or “Company” an NRx Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (Nasdaq: NRXP) subsidiary company, today announced the award of an initial $11,177,757.27 contract issued by the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, a Branch of the United States Department of War. The underlying clinical trial, the Synaptic Plasticity Augmented Rapid Circuit Stimulation (SPARC-TMS) trial has been approved by the US Food and Drug Administration (www.clinicaltrials.gov NCT07227103) and will now begin enrolling patients.
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