The compositions GaPS and methods for their use are provided. GaPS can have potent inhibitory and clinically useful effects on gap junction and structurally related hemichannels. Inhibiting these channels has proven to have clinical benefits in the injury response and for numerous diseases, including in reducing excess inflammation, scarring and fibrosis, increasing healing and regeneration
of normal and chronic wounds, and ameliorating/curing ischemic heart and lung disease, diseases of the eye, stroke, neurodegenerative diseases and cancer. GaPS binary design potentiates their low toxicity, low immune reactivity and high efficaciousness in disease, enabling this drug to be pharmacologically active at extremely low concentrations.