Episode #127 High Truths on Drugs and Addiction with Dr. Brooks Gentry and Monoclonal Antibody Treatment For Methamphetamine Use Disorder

What are some upcoming innovations for methamphetamine use disorder? Learn from Dr. Brooks Gentry how monoclonal antibodies can be the new MAT for meth.

Intervexion Therapeutics Outlast Study W. Brooks Gentry, MD Dr. Brooks Gentry is a Professor in the Department of Anesthesiology at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS), where he has served as Vice-Chair for Research since 2002, and a Professor in the Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology. He is also Chief Medical Officer for InterveXion Therapeutics and Chief Medical Officer for Kuria Therapeutics. Among many leadership roles and service posts on campus, he was Chair of the UAMS Department of Anesthesiology from 2014-2018, and he chaired the UAMS Committee on Clinical Research from 2009 to 2013. Dr. Gentry is retired from clinical medicine but had clinical interests in ambulatory and trauma anesthesiology and practiced in all specialties except for liver transplant, cardiac and pediatric anesthesiology. He has also been active in teaching and advising medical students, residents and graduate students throughout his career. He has received 10 student-selected Red Sash awards for teaching. Since 1998, Dr. Gentry has partnered with Mike Owens, Ph.D., on widely recognized, National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA)-funded research into the development of therapies for substance use disorders. Dr. Gentry was principal investigator on the first human studies of a chimeric anti-methamphetamine monoclonal antibody medication and has continued to lead three other clinical trials of this medication. Dr. Gentry’s and Dr. Owens’ work also led to the formation of InterveXion Therapeutics LLC, a UAMS BioVentures company working to develop monoclonal antibody and vaccine medications, with Dr. Gentry serving as Chief Medical Officer. In his role as Chief Medical Officer of InterveXion, he has substantial input into the development and performance of the Phase 1 and 2 studies of IXT-m200, and into the interpretation of the results. He interacts the site PIs of the studies, and is involved in many safety and medical decisions regarding these studies. Dr. Gentry served as an Oral Examiner for the American Board of Anesthesiology and as Medical Editor for the American Society of Anesthesiologists Self-Education and Evaluation program, a major national continuing medical education program. He has been a reviewer for several publications including the Journal of Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics. He has authored or co-authored more than 50 scientific papers and two book chapters. Dr. Gentry received a B.A. with distinction in biology from Hendrix College in Conway, Arkansas, in 1984 and his medical degree from UAMS in 1988. He trained in anesthesiology at Northwestern University in Chicago, where he also served as Chief Resident and completed a fellowship in clinical pharmacology and pharmacokinetics before joining the UAMS faculty in 1994.