Patent-stage · Pre-clinical concept

Combination pharmacotherapy research for Alcohol & Opioid Use Disorder.

Trivalent Therapeutics is an early, patent-stage company exploring whether combining an incretin (GLP-1-class) agonist with an opioid antagonist could address Alcohol Use Disorder through two complementary mechanisms. Because the opioid-antagonist arm, naltrexone, is already approved on its own for opioid use disorder, our filed method claims also reach that indication — as an adjacent, investigational one. This is a research hypothesis — not an approved product, and not a granted patent.

Company

A single-founder, IP-focused company at the concept stage.

Who we are

Trivalent Therapeutics Inc. is a Delaware C-Corporation based in Dover, Delaware. The company is at the intellectual-property stage and does not conduct clinical development. It has no marketed products and no approved therapies.

What we are working on

Method-of-use patent applications covering the combination of an incretin agonist with naltrexone for Alcohol Use Disorder, and — as an adjacent, investigational indication — for opioid use disorder, where naltrexone alone is already an approved relapse-prevention therapy after medically supervised withdrawal. The combination itself is untested in either indication. Our filed provisional leads with the FDA-approved agent tirzepatide and covers a broader glucagon-receptor-active co-agonist class (e.g., retatrutide, pemvidutide). These incretins are not our compounds; any rights we may obtain would be method-of-use rights only.

The scientific idea

A reasonable, unproven hypothesis about two reinforcement pathways in AUD — and, by extension, in opioid use disorder.

Opioid-reward pathway

Naltrexone, an approved opioid antagonist, blunts the opioid-mediated reward of alcohol. Its efficacy in AUD is well established, and it is separately approved for opioid use disorder, where it blocks the effects of exogenous opioids after detoxification.

Interoceptive-metabolic pathway

GLP-1-class agonists show growing evidence of reducing alcohol consumption. Multi-target incretins — tirzepatide (GLP-1/GIP) and glucagon-receptor-active co-agonists — may contribute additional effects, which we hypothesize but have not tested for our specific combinations.

Mechanism at a Glance

Diagram of the dual-mechanism hypothesis: a GLP-1 receptor agonist acts as the input-side brake on the gut–brain axis while naltrexone blocks μ-opioid receptors as the output-side brake on the dopamine reward signal, with alcohol use disorder as the lead indication and opioid use disorder as an adjacent indication. — Naltrexone and GLP-1 receptor activation address complementary points in the reward pathway. Alcohol use disorder is the lead indication; opioid use disorder is an adjacent, investigational one, since naltrexone alone also blocks the effects of exogenous opioids.

Honest status of the evidence. The dual-pathway idea is a reasonable hypothesis shared by several well-funded programs. There is no clinical or company-generated data for our specific incretin-plus-naltrexone combinations in any species, in alcohol use disorder or in opioid use disorder. Statements on this site are hypotheses about mechanism, not claims of proven efficacy.

Intellectual property

Applications on file. Nothing granted.

Patent pending — not granted

We hold a provisional application (No. 64/110,198, filed July 13, 2026) and an earlier pending nonprovisional application (No. 19/705,839). No patent has been granted. A provisional secures a priority date only; whether any claims will ever issue, and how broadly, is uncertain and subject to examination. These are method-of-use applications covering combinations that use other companies' molecules. Alongside the Alcohol Use Disorder claims, the filings include method claims directed to opioid use disorder — pairing an incretin agonist with naltrexone for relapse prevention after medically supervised withdrawal.

The provisional broadens the position to a glucagon-receptor-active incretin co-agonist class (e.g., retatrutide, pemvidutide) combined with an opioid antagonist, and adds a lead embodiment pairing the FDA-approved agent tirzepatide with naltrexone.

These are prosecuted with outside patent counsel; a formal patentability opinion is pending.
Retatrutide and tirzepatide are Eli Lilly molecules; we do not own or license them. Any rights would be method-of-use (blocking) rights only.
The most relevant prior art is a published Novo Nordisk application disclosing a GLP-1 agonist with naltrexone for alcoholism. The application was withdrawn, and its published disclosure is being addressed with counsel.
A Johns Hopkins University Phase 2 trial (ClinicalTrials.gov NCT07249554, PI: Andrew S. Huhn) is separately evaluating a GLP-1 agonist (semaglutide) combined with naltrexone for AUD - additional prior art relevant to this combination approach.
Naltrexone alone has been approved for opioid use disorder since 1984 and for Alcohol Use Disorder since 1994; the approved single agent is not ours, and only the combination methods are claimed.
There is no clinical or company-generated data for these combinations yet, in either indication.

Competitive & scientific landscape

We describe this space accurately, including where others are ahead of us. The programs below are in Alcohol Use Disorder, the more developed of the two indications.

Program / reference	What it is	Status in AUD
Eli Lilly — brenipatide (LY3537031)	GLP-1/GIP agonist	Phase 3 AUD trials (RENEW-ALC-1/2)
Altimmune — pemvidutide	GLP-1/glucagon (GCGR) agonist	Phase 2 AUD (RECLAIM); FDA Fast Track
Semaglutide (GLP-1)	GLP-1 agonist	Human AUD signals; EHR evidence
US 2015/0038417 A1 (Novo Nordisk)	Prior-art application	Withdrawn; published disclosure covers GLP-1 agonist + naltrexone for alcoholism
Trivalent (this company)	Incretin (incl. tirzepatide / glucagon co-agonists) + naltrexone method	Provisional filed (2026) + pending application; concept stage; no data

Incretin approaches to AUD — including glucagon-receptor engagement — are already in clinical development by larger, funded companies. We do not claim this space is unoccupied, and we do not claim our application is granted or that no prior art exists. Opioid use disorder is earlier still: naltrexone is an established therapy on its own, but we are aware of no clinical data on an incretin-plus-naltrexone combination in that indication, including ours.

Licensing & partnerships

We are seeking a development or licensing partner for this combination IP — Alcohol Use Disorder, with opioid use disorder as an adjacent, investigational indication.

Trivalent's intellectual property is a method-of-use position; the Company is not a clinical developer. We are open to option, license, or research-collaboration discussions with pharmaceutical companies and specialty-pharma or IP groups positioned to develop or clear the combination — most naturally parties already working with incretin agonists in metabolic disease or addiction, or with naltrexone in opioid use disorder.

What we can share openly: a non-confidential summary of the position and the filed application numbers.
Detailed IP, claim scope, and any data plan are shared under a confidentiality agreement.
To be clear about what this is: a pending, unexamined position on third-party molecules, with no clinical data yet — we describe it accurately, and expect partners to do their own diligence.

Download the non-confidential summary (PDF)

Partnership & licensing inquiries: contact@trivalent-therapeutics-inc.com

This is a business-development invitation only. It is not an offer to sell, or a solicitation of an offer to buy, any security, and no securities are offered here.