NRx Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ: NRXP) has responded to public allegations by Kadima Neuropsychiatry Institute, asserting that a binding arbitration agreement governs the dispute over the non-acquisition of Kadima by HOPE Therapeutics, Inc., a majority-owned subsidiary of NRx. The company stated that Kadima failed to meet key closing conditions, including the delivery of clear title to assets and a material adverse change in the condition of the business. NRx management contends that specific performance of the acquisition would not serve the best interests of patients or shareholders, arguing that the acquisition of an individual clinic is immaterial to HOPE’s business model.

The dispute centers on an Asset Purchase and Contribution Agreement executed on May 9, 2025. NRx Chairman Dr. Jonathan Javitt had proposed the acquisition in 2024 with assurances of secured financing. However, NRx claims the scientific direction of HOPE has since evolved to focus on neuronavigated Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (TMS), which contrasts with the approach supported by Kadima founder Dr. David Feifel. The company is currently advancing initiatives such as a partnership with Zeta Surgical and the SPARC-TMS trial combining NRX-101 with robotic TMS.

NRx revealed that it compelled arbitration prior to Kadima's public statements on June 24, 2026. The company characterized Kadima's subsequent lawsuit for specific performance as an invalid venue, expressing confidence that the San Diego courts will direct the parties back to arbitration. NRx maintains that the matter will be resolved equitably and remains non-material to its financial outlook.

The company emphasized that its future success depends on developing new drugs and medical technologies with national and international reach, specifically targeting depression, PTSD, and other serious conditions. NRx Pharmaceuticals is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company developing therapeutics based on its NMDA platform, including NRX-100 and NRX-101.

HOPE Therapeutics, a subsidiary of NRx Pharmaceuticals, has treated its first patients using Zeta Surgical's FDA-cleared Zeta TMS Navigation System at its clinics in West Palm Beach and Sarasota, Florida. The deployment marks the transition from research setup to active patient care, integrating AI-powered, sub-millimetric image guidance into routine outpatient Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (TMS) workflows for individuals with Major Depressive Disorder and other central nervous system conditions. This milestone advances HOPE Therapeutics' interventional psychiatry platform and aligns with NRx Pharmaceuticals' planned clinical trial, designated as the SPARC-TMS trial, which will evaluate NRX-101 in combination with robotic-enabled TMS.

The Zeta TMS Navigation System utilizes proprietary RealTrack™ technology to deliver real-time, markerless image guidance during TMS procedures. By applying artificial intelligence and computer vision, the system registers a patient's MRI or CT imaging to their facial anatomy in under two minutes. It continuously tracks the position of the TMS coil relative to the planned brain target with sub-millimetric accuracy throughout the treatment process.

"Treating our first patients with the Zeta TMS Navigation System moves the integrated treatment model we are building at HOPE from concept to clinical reality," said Jonathan Javitt, MD, MPH, Chairman and CEO of NRx Pharmaceuticals and HOPE Therapeutics. "Bringing neurosurgical-grade targeting precision into the outpatient setting is exactly the kind of capability that distinguishes the HOPE network, and it directly supports our planned trial of NRX-101 in combination with robotic-enabled TMS in patients with depression and suicidality."

TMS is a non-invasive therapy used primarily for treatment-resistant depression, which affects approximately one-third of patients with major depressive disorder. It is also used in other neuropsychiatric conditions, including obsessive-compulsive disorder and other disorders involving brain circuit dysfunction. Because TMS is intended to modulate specific brain regions and neural circuits, accurate and repeatable targeting of patient-specific treatment sites is an important component of treatment delivery, which is the gap the Zeta system is designed to address.

The deployment complements HOPE's broader interventional psychiatry platform, which includes ketamine and Spravato® delivery, TMS, Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy, and other neuroplastic therapies offered across the HOPE network of clinics. It also aligns with NRx's previously announced clinical trial program of NRX-101 (oral D-cycloserine/lurasidone) in combination with robotic-enabled TMS for patients with depression and suicidality, which is planned to be conducted across a leading US academic teaching hospital, three HOPE Therapeutics clinics, and two military treatment facilities.

Key Features of the Zeta TMS Navigation System