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.

King Pharmaceuticals resubmits NDA for REMOXY

King Pharmaceuticals®, Inc. and Pain Therapeutics®, Inc. today announced that King has resubmitted a New Drug Application for REMOXY® to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration in response to a Complete Response letter received by Pain Therapeutics in December 2008.

28 Dec 2010

NDA resubmitted for DURECT's ORADUR technology based REMOXY

DURECT Corporation today reported that King Pharmaceuticals, Inc. and Pain Therapeutics, Inc. have announced that King has resubmitted a New Drug Application (NDA) for REMOXY® to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in response to a Complete Response Letter received by Pain Therapeutics in December 2008. This is a Class 2 resubmission with a six month review cycle.

28 Dec 2010

Lightlake acquires US Patent for method of terminating methadone maintenance

Lightlake Therapeutics Inc has acquired US Patent 5,587,381, entitled: 'Method for terminating methadone maintenance through extinction of the opiate-taking responses', using an opioid antagonist as treatment. The Patent also covers treatment for addiction to other legally available opioids and to stimulant drugs such as Cocaine and Amphetamines.

17 Dec 2010

Preliminary results from Phase 1b/2a trial of MediciNova's ibudilast in opioid addicts announced

Drug addiction investigators with joint appointments at Columbia University Medical Center and the New York State Psychiatric Institute along with MediciNova Inc, a biopharmaceutical company publicly traded on the Nasdaq Global Market and the Jasdaq Market of the Osaka Securities Exchange, today reported preliminary results of the company's neurological drug candidate, ibudilast (MN-166/AV411), in a Phase 1b/2a trial in opioid addicts. The study was largely funded by the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) with MediciNova supplementation.

14 Dec 2010

Orexo announces successful completion of OX219 initial pharmacokinetic trial for opioid dependence

Orexo AB announces successful completion of the initial pharmacokinetic trial in the OX219 project. In the comparative bioavailability study, the OX219 buprenorphine/naloxone sublingual tablet formulation demonstrated favourable profiles compared to the comparator Suboxone®, which is the market leading product for treatment of opioid dependence.

14 Dec 2010

Using buprenorphine to treat opioid-dependent pregnant women may result in healthier babies

Using buprenorphine instead of methadone — the current standard of care — to treat opioid-dependent pregnant women may result in healthier babies, suggests new findings from an international team led by Johns Hopkins researchers and published in the Dec. 9 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine.

10 Dec 2010

QRxPharma completes patient enrolment of pivotal MoxDuo IR phase 3 study

QRxPharma Limited (ASX: QRX and OTCQX: QRXPY) announced today it has completed patient enrolment for a pivotal Phase 3 registration trial (Study 009) for MoxDuo IR. The comparative study was designed to evaluate analgesic efficacy and safety of MoxDuo IR, a patented 3:2 ratio fixed dose combination of morphine plus oxycodone, for managing moderate to severe pain in patients who have undergone total knee replacement surgery.

5 Dec 2010

Zogenix completes enrollment in ZX002 Phase 3 study for moderate to severe pain

Zogenix, Inc. today announced completion of enrollment in its open-label Phase 3 safety study (Study 802) of ZX002. ZX002 is a novel, oral, single-entity, controlled-release formulation of hydrocodone for the treatment of moderate to severe pain in patients requiring around-the-clock opioid therapy for an extended period of time.

30 Nov 2010

Prescription rates for controlled medications double for teens, young adults

Adolescents and young adults are most likely to abuse prescription medications. Yet prescription rates for controlled medications, or drugs the Drug Enforcement Administration deems as having the potential for abuse, have nearly doubled for those age groups in the past 14 years, according to a recent study published in Pediatrics. Overall, a controlled medication was prescribed for young adults at approximately one out of every six visits and for young adult by adolescents one out of every nine encounters.

30 Nov 2010

Ziconotide could promote suicidal tendencies in vulnerable patients: Research

24 Nov 2010

Ziconotide could promote suicidal tendencies: Study

The active agent ziconotide, the synthetic toxin of the cone snail (Conus magus), was acclaimed a safe alternative to morphine when it was introduced six years ago. Now it is increasingly suspected of causing patients to commit suicide. Researchers working under the auspices of Prof. Christoph Maier (Director of the Pain Clinic Bergmannsheil at the Ruhr University in Bochum) presume that ziconotide not only suppresses the transmission of pain stimuli, but also deteriorates the frame of mind and could simultaneously reduce anxiety and impulse control.

23 Nov 2010

CMS grants Qutenza J-code to NeurogesX

NeurogesX, Inc. a biopharmaceutical company focused on developing and commercializing novel pain management therapies, today announced that the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) has granted a unique, Level II Health Care Common Procedural Coding System (Level II HCPCS), commonly referred to as a J-code, for Qutenza (capsaicin) 8% patch.

19 Nov 2010

Omeros identifies orphan GPCR compound that potentiates tumor-killing activity of doxorubicin

Omeros Corporation, a biopharmaceutical company committed to discovering, developing and commercializing products focused on inflammation and disorders of the central nervous system, today announced that a compound identified by the Company as an antagonist of GPR87, an orphan GPCR recently unlocked for drug development by Omeros and linked to squamous cell carcinoma, potentiates the tumor-killing activity of doxorubicin (Adriamycin), a widely used chemotherapeutic agent.

10 Nov 2010

Single injection of morphine to fight persistent pain reduces testosterone level: Research

A single injection of morphine to fight persistent pain in male rats is able to strongly reduce the hormone testosterone in the brain and plasma, according to a new paper published in Molecular Pain.

4 Nov 2010

FDA grants Cadence marketing approval for OFIRMEV injection in management of pain and fever

Cadence Pharmaceuticals, Inc. announced today that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has granted marketing approval for OFIRMEV™ (acetaminophen) injection, the first and only intravenous (IV) formulation of acetaminophen to be approved in the United States. OFIRMEV is indicated for the management of mild to moderate pain, the management of moderate to severe pain with adjunctive opioid analgesics, and the reduction of fever.

3 Nov 2010

NeurogesX initiates NGX-1998 Phase 2 study in postherpetic neuralgia

NeurogesX, Inc., a biopharmaceutical company focused on developing and commercializing novel pain management therapies, today announced dosing of the first patient in its Phase 2 clinical study of NGX-1998, a liquid formulation of high-concentration capsaicin, in patients with postherpetic neuralgia (PHN).

3 Nov 2010

FDA selects Rochester to lead initiative to identify improved pain treatments

Pain is the most common symptom leading patients to see a physician in the United States, yet the most widely prescribed medications - opioids and non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDS) - have major drawbacks, including the potential for misuse and abuse and adverse effects that limit long-term use. While scientists have made great strides in understanding the physical and chemical processes that occur when people feel pain, new treatments with improved safety and effectiveness are still needed for the more than 76 million Americans with acute and chronic pain.

2 Nov 2010

Pain Therapeutics third quarter net loss decreases from $1.3 million to $1.0 million

Pain Therapeutics, Inc. a biopharmaceutical company, today reported financial results for its third quarter of fiscal year 2010.

29 Oct 2010

Evotec, Apeiron Biologics enter collaboration

Evotec AG today announced that it has entered into a collaboration with Apeiron Biologics AG, to initially identify small molecule modulators of DREAM (Downstream Regulatory Element Antagonistic Modulator), a novel target involved in perception of various pain mechanisms. Further projects will be evaluated to potentially expand this cooperation in due course.

27 Oct 2010

Inguinal lymph node dissection with spinal anesthesia improves prognosis in patients with malignant melanoma

A study presented at this year's American Society of Anesthesiologists Annual Meeting offers evidence that patients with malignant melanoma who undergo inguinal lymph node dissection with spinal anesthesia (a regional anesthetic) have a better prognosis than patients who undergo the same surgery with general anesthesia.

20 Oct 2010