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Our Story
Rafias, founded in 2021, was created to address one of the most urgent unmet needs in addiction medicine: relapse during abstinence. Despite millions affected and rising stimulant use worldwide, no FDA-approved medications exist for stimulant addiction. Treatment remains dependent on behavioral interventions with high relapse rates and substantial economic burden.
Drawing on breakthrough discoveries from the Heller Lab at the University of Pennsylvania, Rafias is developing the first therapeutic approach that strengthens the brain’s natural recovery pathways. Our work combines neuroscience, epigenetics, and chemistry to build a new class of targeted, abstinence-phase pharmacologic treatments.
We are developing the first safe and effective medication to prevent relapse in stimulant use disorder. Our work advances neurobiology and chemistry to restore the brain’s capacity for sustained recovery.
Rafias targets Nr4a1, a transcription factor linked to addiction resilience. Through translational research at the University of Pennsylvania, we’re validating Nr4a1 as a first-in-class therapeutic target and building a commercially viable drug development pipeline.
Our Mission
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The Brilliant Minds Behind Rafias
Elizabeth A Heller, Ph.D.
Founder, Rafias | Associate Professor, University of Pennsylvania
Soumita Ghosh, Ph.D.
Senior Scientist, Mass Spectrometry, ADMET, University of Pennsylvania
Aleksa Milosavljevic, Ph.D.
Senior Scientist, Organic Synthesis, University of Pennsylvania
Kyle Kampmann, M.D.
Professor of Psychiatry, University of Pennsylvania | Director, Charles O'Brien Center for the Treatment of Addictions
Aleksa Milosavljevic, Ph.D.
Senior Scientist, Organic Synthesis, University of Pennsylvania
Kyle Kampmann, M.D.
Professor of Psychiatry, University of Pennsylvania | Director, Charles O'Brien Center for the Treatment of Addictions
Elizabeth A Heller, Ph.D.
Founder, Rafias | Associate Professor, University of Pennsylvania
Soumita Ghosh, Ph.D.
Senior Scientist, Mass Spectrometry, ADMET, University of Pennsylvania
Aleksa Milosavljevic, Ph.D.
Senior Scientist, Organic Synthesis, University of Pennsylvania
Kyle Kampmann, M.D.
Professor of Psychiatry, University of Pennsylvania | Director, Charles O'Brien Center for the Treatment of Addictions