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.

Alkermes commences ALKS 37 phase 1 clinical trial for the treatment of opioid-induced constipation

Alkermes, Inc. today announced the initiation of a phase 1 clinical study of ALKS 37, an orally active, peripherally-restricted opioid antagonist with potential to block the opioid agonist effects on gastrointestinal motility, commonly referred to as opioid-induced constipation (OIC). The randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study will assess the safety, tolerability and pharmacokinetic effects of a single oral administration of five doses of ALKS 37 in approximately 40 healthy volunteers.

27 Oct 2009

Positive results from KAI Pharmaceuticals' pain therapeutic program

KAI Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a privately held drug discovery and development company, announced positive preclinical results from its program targeting the gamma protein kinase C (PKC) pathway for the development of novel therapies for pain.

20 Oct 2009

FDA launches web page with information on how to dispose of certain drugs

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration today launched a Web page for consumers with information on how to dispose of certain drugs, including several high-potency opioids and other selected controlled substances.

15 Oct 2009

Progenics Pharmaceuticals and Wyeth Pharmaceuticals sign license agreement

Progenics Pharmaceuticals, Inc. today announced that it has entered into an agreement with Wyeth Pharmaceuticals, a division of Wyeth under which Progenics is regaining all worldwide rights to the RELISTOR® franchise from Wyeth Pharmaceuticals, which Progenics had previously licensed to Wyeth Pharmaceuticals.

14 Oct 2009

Meda Pharmaceuticals introduces Onsolis for treating breakthrough cancer pain

Meda Pharmaceuticals Inc. today announced the launch of Onsolis(TM)(fentanyl buccal soluble film) in the U.S. for the management of breakthrough pain (BTP) in patients with cancer, eighteen years of age and older, who are already receiving and who are tolerant to opioid therapy for their underlying persistent cancer pain.

13 Oct 2009

QRxPharma signs contractual agreement with Patheon

QRxPharma Limited (ASX: QRX and OTCQX: QRXPY) announced today a contractual agreement with Patheon to manufacture clinical supplies of QRxPharma's controlled release Dual-Opioid(TM) formulation (MoxDuo(TM)CR). MoxDuo(TM)CR is designed to provide 12 hours of pain relief in patients suffering from moderate to severe chronic pain (including cancer, lower back, osteoarthritis and neuropathic).

12 Oct 2009

Nektar Therapeutics presents the results from Phase 2 clinical trial of oral NKTR-118

Nektar Therapeutics presented topline data today from its Phase 2 clinical trial of oral NKTR-118 at the American Academy of Pain Management's (AAPM) 20th Annual Clinical Meeting in Phoenix, Arizona.

12 Oct 2009

Nutra Pharma to launch prescription analgesic for severe chronic pain treatment

Nutra Pharma Corp. (OTCBB: NPHC), a biotechnology company that is developing treatments for Adrenomyeloneuropathy (AMN), HIV and Multiple Sclerosis (MS), has announced today its intent to launch a prescription analgesic, Nyloxin Rx, for the treatment of severe (Stage 3) chronic pain.

7 Oct 2009

Opioid drugs may not be effective for osteoarthritis

Should you take opioid drugs for hip and knee pain caused by osteoarthritis? Probably not, suggests a new review of the best research on the subject.

7 Oct 2009

Inspirion Delivery Technologies completes Pre-IND meeting with the FDA

Inspirion Delivery Technologies, LLC ("IDT") announced today that last week the Company completed a pre-investigational new drug (Pre-IND) meeting with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to determine the clinical and regulatory pathway to advance its abuse deterrent, extended release formulation of oxycodone.

30 Sep 2009

Research study sheds light on mechanisms of pain alteration in infancy and adolescence

Scientists at Georgia State University have uncovered the mechanisms of how pain in infancy alters how the brain processes pain in adulthood.

26 Sep 2009

Four percent annual growth for chronic pain drug market

Decision Resources, one of the world's leading research and advisory firms for pharmaceutical and healthcare issues, finds that the chronic pain drug market will experience modest four percent annual growth from 2008 to 2018 in the United States, France, Germany, Italy, Spain, the United Kingdom and Japan. Although the market will increase over the next decade, generic erosion will constrain sales of key branded agents such as Johnson & Johnson's Topamax (topiramate) and Pfizer's Celebrex (celecoxib).

23 Sep 2009

Drugs blocking the effects of ACh may prevent cancer

By seeing what substances and molecules affect the development of our diseases, we can develop drugs that prevent or cure diseases. In her dissertation at Kalmar University in Sweden, Ann Novotny has found that the signal molecule acetylcholine (ACh) is important for the progress of cancer of the large intestine and colon, knowledge that is important to factor in when developing drugs that block the effects of Ach on tumor cells.

23 Sep 2009

King Pharmaceuticals achieves milestone: Announces commercial availability of EMBEDA

King Pharmaceuticals(R), Inc. (NYSE: KG) today announced a true milestone as it marks the first commercial availability for EMBEDA(TM) (morphine sulfate and naltrexone hydrochloride) Extended Release Capsules, a long-acting Schedule II opioid analgesic for the management of moderate to severe pain when a continuous, around-the-clock opioid analgesic is needed for an extended period of time.

21 Sep 2009

AstraZeneca and Nektar Therapeutics enter worldwide license agreement for two drug development programmes

AstraZeneca and Nektar Therapeutics announced today that they have entered into an exclusive worldwide license agreement for two drug development programmes: NKTR-118, a late stage investigational product being evaluated for the treatment of opioid-induced constipation, and the NKTR-119 programme, an early stage programme that is intended to deliver products for the treatment of pain without constipation side effects.

21 Sep 2009

Dominion develops and validates clinical quantitative assays for tapentadol

Dominion Diagnostics (Dominion) has recently developed and validated one of the first clinical quantitative assays for the drug tapentadol (Nucynta(TM)) performed by liquid chromatography/tandem mass spectrometry (LC/MS/MS). Tapentadol, recently approved for use by the FDA, is a centrally-active analgesic that has demonstrated efficacy in pain relief with improved gastrointestinal tolerability compared to other opioids for pain management.

15 Sep 2009

Oral NKTR-118 has low risk for mediating significant drug-drug interactions

Nektar Therapeutics presented clinical study data today demonstrating that the oral tablet formulation of NKTR-118 has favorable systemic bioavailability and a low risk for mediating significant drug-drug interactions.

14 Sep 2009

Caldolor launched ahead of schedule in U.S. by Cumberland Pharmaceuticals

Cumberland Pharmaceuticals Inc. (Nasdaq: CPIX) announced today that it has successfully implemented the U.S. launch of Caldolor((R)), an intravenous formulation of ibuprofen, designed primarily for use in the hospital setting.

9 Sep 2009

Study: Brain circuits may influence binge eating

Scientists led a rat to the fatty food, but they couldn't make it eat. Using an animal model of binge eating, University of Missouri researchers discovered that deactivating the basolateral amygdala, a brain region involved in regulating emotion, specifically blocked consumption of a fatty diet. Surprisingly, it had no effect on the rat wanting to look for the food repeatedly.

9 Sep 2009

First results of European survey of cancer patients' experience of breakthrough pain presented at EFIC

The first results of the first European survey of cancer patients' experience of breakthrough pain were presented today at the 6th congress of the European Federation of Chapters of the International Association for the Study of Pain (EFIC).

9 Sep 2009