Opioids News and Research

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An opioid is a chemical that works by binding to opioid receptors, which are found principally in the central nervous system and the gastrointestinal tract. The receptors in these two organ systems mediate both the beneficial effects and the side effects of opioids.

Zogenix announces the initiation of pivotal Phase 3 clinical trial with ZX002

Zogenix, Inc., a privately held pharmaceutical company, announced that it has initiated a pivotal Phase 3 clinical trial with ZX002, a novel, oral, controlled-release formulation of hydrocodone without acetaminophen. ZX002 is being developed for the treatment of moderate to severe pain in individuals who require around-the-clock opioid therapy for the control of pain.

17 Mar 2010

Progenics Pharmaceuticals to advance oral methylnaltrexone for OIC into late stage clinical development

Progenics Pharmaceuticals, Inc. today announced that it plans to advance oral methylnaltrexone for the treatment of opioid-induced constipation (OIC) into late stage clinical development and will commence a phase 2b/3 clinical trial of a methylnaltrexone tablet in chronic-pain patients in the second half of 2010. Progenics also announced data from a clinical trial of this methylnaltrexone tablet.

15 Mar 2010

YM BioSciences: Two posters on nimotuzumab accepted for presentation at AACR

YM BioSciences Inc., today announced that two posters have been accepted for presentation at the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) Annual Meeting to be held from April 17-21 in Washington, DC. The first poster describes the results of the previously reported collaboration with researchers at the University of Toronto for the development of highly potent antibody-radionuclide conjugates for use in the treatment of cancer. The poster will describe activity of 111In-NLS-nimotuzumab against breast cancer cells with high and low EGFR expression.

15 Mar 2010

Injured nerves may cause severe pain in patients with sickle cell disease

Researchers at the University of Illinois at Chicago have discovered the pain caused by sickle cell disease may not occur solely from damaged tissues, but also from injured nerves.

11 Mar 2010

Positive results from Limerick BioPharma's LIM-0705 Phase 1a trial

Limerick BioPharma, Inc., a developer of innovative therapies that help cells pump unwanted or toxic substances away from vulnerable tissues, has announced positive results of a Phase 1a trial for its lead compound, LIM-0705, which has completed its first in man study.

10 Mar 2010

YM Biosciences announces increase of registered direct offering to $17.5M

YM BioSciences Inc., today announced that the previously announced offering of approximately US$15 million has been increased to approximately US$17.5 million.

9 Mar 2010

YM Biosciences to raise $15M in registered direct offering of common stock

YM BioSciences Inc., today announced that it is raising approximately US$15 million in a "registered direct" offering of units at a price of US$1.20 per unit.

5 Mar 2010

YM BioSciences files Form 6K regarding certain nimotuzumab US patents

YM BioSciences Inc., announces that it filed a Form 6K describing that certain US patents for nimotuzumab licensed to YM's majority-owned Canadian subsidiary , CIMYM BioSciences Inc., have become subject to a lien in the United States, pursuant to a court order, to a third party.

3 Mar 2010

Cancer pain patients: European regulations restricting access to opioid-based drugs

Many cancer patients in Europe are being denied access to adequate pain relief because of over-zealous regulations restricting the availability and accessibility of opioid-based drugs such as morphine.

22 Feb 2010

Javelin Pharmaceuticals’ Dyloject NDA receives FDA PDUFA date

Javelin Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a leading developer and marketer of specialty pharmaceutical products for pain management, today announced that its New Drug Application (NDA) submitted on December 2, 2009 to the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for its investigational product candidate, Dyloject™ (diclofenac sodium) Injection, has received an FDA PDUFA date of October 3, 2010. This NDA review is in support of US marketing approval and registration of Dyloject for the management of acute moderate-to-severe pain in adults.

18 Feb 2010

Positive topline data from Alkermes' phase 1 clinical study of ALKS 37 announced

Alkermes, Inc. today announced positive topline data from a phase 1 clinical study of ALKS 37, an orally active, peripherally-restricted opioid antagonist with potential to block the effects of opioid agonists on gastrointestinal motility, commonly referred to as opioid-induced constipation (OIC).

16 Feb 2010

Third party reexamination of Phase III study of Ereska meets primary endpoint

Javelin Pharmaceuticals, Inc. today announced that a reexamination conducted by a third party of pain score measurements from its Phase III study of Ereska™ (intranasal ketamine) showed that top line results for its primary endpoint were statistically significant. Previously, Javelin had reported that the top line results for its primary endpoint were not statistically significant.

12 Feb 2010

YM Biosciences to present JAK1/2 inhibiting small molecule and vascular disrupting agent data at Cancer Conference

YM BioSciences Inc., is presenting posters on its JAK1/2 inhibiting small molecule (CYT387) and on its novel vascular disrupting agent (CYT997) at the Lorne Cancer Conference in Lorne, Victoria, Australia. CYT387 is an oral JAK1/2 inhibitor, originating from the seminal discovery of JAK1 and JAK2 kinases by Dr. Andrew Wilks, the founder of Cytopia Limited, now YM Australia. CYT997 is an orally-available agent with dual mechanisms of vascular disruption and cytotoxicity and has the potential to be broadly active against a range of tumor types.

11 Feb 2010

QRxPharma announces the initiation of second pivotal Phase 3 registration trial of MoxDuo IR

QRxPharma Limited announced today initiation of its second pivotal Phase 3 registration trial (Study 009) to evaluate analgesic efficacy and safety of MoxDuo™IR, a patented 3:2 ratio fixed dose combination of morphine plus oxycodone.

11 Feb 2010

YM BioSciences receives additional AeroLEF patents in U.S.

YM BioSciences Inc., announced that it has been granted two additional patents in the US for AeroLEF(R), the Company's proprietary, inhaled-delivery composition of free and liposome-encapsulated fentanyl in development for the treatment of moderate to severe acute pain. US patent numbers 7,648,981 and 7,648,982 extend the life of YM's AeroLEF patent estate in the US to 2024.

10 Feb 2010

Doctors do not follow evidence-based guidelines for treating low back pain, says report

Australian general practitioners often treat patients with low back pain in a manner that does not appear to match the care endorsed by international clinical guidelines, according to a report in the February 8 issue of Archives of Internal Medicine, one of the JAMA/Archives journals.

9 Feb 2010

Positive data from Cara Therapeutics' peripherally-restricted kappa opioid agonist Phase II trial

Cara Therapeutics, Inc. today announced positive data in a Phase II proof-of-concept clinical trial of its peripherally-restricted kappa opioid agonist, CR845. The 46 patient Phase II, multi-center, double-blind, placebo-controlled study was conducted at eight hospitals in the United States and evaluated the efficacy and safety of CR845 in women following laparoscopic-assisted hysterectomy.

9 Feb 2010

'Doctor Shopping': Data from California's prescription monitoring program

Research presented at the American Academy of Pain Medicine's 26th Annual Meeting provides early published data analyzing information gathered from California's prescription monitoring program, known as the Controlled Substances Utilization Review and Evaluation System (CURES). The analysis found a two-fold increase in the likelihood of individuals receiving opioids from multiple providers or "doctor shopping" when they were also being simultaneously prescribed a single additional class of a controlled substances, such as benzodiazepines or amphetamines.

5 Feb 2010

"Knowledge deficit" about methadone responsible for resulting deaths

In a unique and comprehensive literature review of poisoning deaths involving opioids from 1999 -- 2009, the deaths involving methadone were found to be disproportionately high. Methadone represented less than five percent of all opioid prescriptions but is responsible for a third of the deaths. After four years of investigation, the major underlying cause was found to be fundamental misunderstandings about the properties of the medicine -- a "knowledge deficit" -- especially when converting patients from other opioids.

4 Feb 2010