Ensysce Biosciences Awarded $5.3 Million Installment in NIDA Funding Completing Multi-Year $15 Million Federal Grant

About this update from Ensysce Biosciences, Inc.

Funds Advance FDA-Designated Breakthrough Therapy First-in-Class Opioid with Oral Overdose-Protection SAN DIEGO, CA / ACCESS Newswire / July 14, 2026 / Ensysce Biosciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:ENSC) ("Ensysce" or the "Company"), a clinical-stage pharmaceutical company pioneering next-generation pain and central nervous system therapeutics engineered to minimize abuse and overdose risk, today announced receipt of a Notice of Award for $5.3 million from the National Institutes on Drug Abuse (NIDA)1 to support the development of its novel MPAR® (Multi-Pill Abuse Resistance) overdose-protection technology, and the lead agent, PF614-MPAR. This marks the third consecutive year of NIDA funding under this award, reflecting sustained institutional confidence in the MPAR® program as it progresses toward late-stage development. This third year of funding completes Ensysce's $15.1 million award, which has enabled the Company to advance both the non‑clinical and clinical development of its novel MPAR® overdose‑protection technology. The award will support completion of the PF614‑MPAR‑102 study, as well as the long‑term non‑clinical studies required for ultimate submission in the New Drug Application (NDA) for PF614‑MPAR. PF614-MPAR, which received Breakthrough Therapy designation from the U.S. FDA following their review of the initial clinical data from study PF614-101, represents a fundamentally new approach to opioid safety. Unlike conventional abuse-deterrent formulations, PF614-MPAR is designed to provide active protection against oral overdose-addressing a critical unresolved risk in opioid therapy. PF614-MPAR uses a proprietary chemical control mechanism that maintains therapeutic opioid exposure under prescribed use, while automatically limiting additional opioid release when excessive doses are ingested. This "built-in safety switch" introduces a new therapeutic paradigm: opioids engineered not only for efficacy, but for controlled exposure under conditions of misuse. Dr. Lynn Kirkpatrick, Chief Executive Officer of Ensysce, noted that nearly 80,000 people in the U.S. die each year from opioid overdoses, with prescription opioids playing a significant role in the crisis2. "This continued NIDA funding allows us to keep advancing MPAR®, a new class of chemically engineered opioids designed to actively safeguard patients, even in situations involving misuse or dosing mistakes. This innovation marks an important step toward setting a new standard for opioid safety," she stated.

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