NRx Pharma’s NRx Defense Systems Announces Award Of Initial $11M Contract Issued By Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency
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 Defen
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. 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 ( NCT07227103) and will now begin enrolling patients. The SPARC-TMS trial will be conducted at Harvard Medical School’s McLean Hospital, Arizona State University, and HOPE Therapeutics. Several leading military hospitals will also be affiliated with the study.