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.

Phase II clinical study examining CTT's Calmare pain therapy medical device completed

Competitive Technologies, Inc. announced today that Thomas J. Smith, MD FACP, and co-investigator Patrick J. Coyne, MSN, APRN, FAAN, of Virginia Commonwealth University's Massey Cancer Center have completed their open Phase II clinical study examining CTT's Calmare pain therapy medical device's efficacy treating patients suffering with severe pain from chemotherapy induced peripheral neuropathy.

15 Apr 2010

Alkermes submits VIVITROL sNDA for opioid dependence

Alkermes, Inc. today announced that it has submitted a supplemental New Drug Application (sNDA) for VIVITROL® (naltrexone for extended-release injectable suspension) to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for approval as a treatment for opioid dependence. The company requested a priority review for its sNDA and if granted by the FDA, it would mean a six month review timeline.

13 Apr 2010

Physicians warn parents on dangers of prescription drug abuse among children

With reports of increased prescription drug overdoses in emergency departments, the nation's emergency physicians are issuing a strong warning to parents about the dangers of abusing prescription drugs, which are now the second most abused drugs, after marijuana. Hospital visits caused by accidental and unintentional prescription drug overdoses went up 37 percent between 1999 and 2006, according to new data released by the American Journal of Preventive Medicine.

13 Apr 2010

Competitive Technologies to introduce Calmare pain therapy at medical conference

Competitive Technologies, Inc. announced today that it will hold a conference for the medical community on May 17, 2010, in Boston, Mass. at the Marriott Long Wharf Hotel from 9:00 a.m. to 3:30 p.m., to introduce CTT's Calmare® pain therapy to the medical community. Professor Giuseppe Marineo, MD, DSc., Researcher, Founding President of Delta Research and Development, Tor Vergata University of Rome, is the Italian inventor of the "Scrambler Therapy," the technology used in the Calmare medical device.

12 Apr 2010

Complicating doctors' work: Prescription drug scams and excessive paper work

News outlets examine two issues affecting doctors' work: patients fraudulently seeking prescriptions and overwhelming paper work.

12 Apr 2010

Prescription overdoses are second leading cause of unintentional deaths in US

"Unintentional poisoning is now the second leading cause of unintentional death in the US," reports Dr. Jeffrey H. Coben of West Virginia University School of Medicine in Morgantown. Among people 35 to 54 years old, unintentional poisoning surpassed motor vehicle crashes as the leading cause of unintentional death in 2005.

6 Apr 2010

Qutenza 8% patch now available for pain associated with PHN: NeurogesX

NeurogesX, Inc. announced today that Qutenza® (capsaicin) 8% patch, the first and only product containing prescription-strength capsaicin, is now available. Clinical studies have shown that a single one-hour Qutenza application can provide three months relief from pain associated with postherpetic neuralgia, the nerve pain that can occur after shingles.

6 Apr 2010

Prescription drug abuse reaches epidemic proportions

Poisoning is now the second leading cause of unintentional injury death in the U.S. While several recent high-profile Hollywood celebrity cases have brought the problem to public attention, the rates of unintentional poisoning deaths have been on the rise for more than 15 years.

6 Apr 2010

New formulation of controlled-release drug OxyContin approved

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration today approved a new formulation of the controlled-release drug OxyContin that has been designed to help discourage misuse and abuse of the medication.

6 Apr 2010

Nation's emergency physicians warn parents about dangers of prescription drug abuse

The nation's emergency physicians are issuing a strong warning to parents about the dangers of prescription drug abuse, which are now the second most abused drugs, after marijuana. Nearly three-quarters of a million people (741,425) needed emergency care in 2006 because of prescription drug abuse.

31 Mar 2010

NMS Labs launches test to evaluate the efficacy of Milnacipran

NMS Labs launches another unique test suitable for the evaluation of toxicity vs. efficacy, the potential for physicians to establish therapeutic drug monitoring of individual patients, and the assessment of drug diversion of a new pain management drug therapy.

31 Mar 2010

QRxPharma initiates Phase 1 trial for evaluating PK profiles of morphine, oxycodone CR formulations

QRxPharma announced today initiation of the Company's first Phase 1 trial to evaluate the pharmacokinetic (PK) profiles of experimental controlled-release (CR) morphine and oxycodone formulations that will be incorporated into MoxDuo®CR. MoxDuo®CR contains a fixed 3:2 morphine:oxycodone combination and is intended to be dosed twice daily in patients experiencing chronic pain, an approximately US$7 billion dollar market worldwide.

31 Mar 2010

YM BioSciences receives approval to expand enrolment in Phase I/II clinical trial of CYT387

YM BioSciences Inc., announced that it has received ethics board approval to expand enrolment in its Phase I/II clinical trial of CYT387 at Mayo Clinic in patients with myelofibrosis, a chronic debilitating condition, where patient's bone marrow is replaced by scar tissue.

31 Mar 2010

Titan Pharmaceuticals commences Phase 3 study of Probuphine for opioid addiction

Titan Pharmaceuticals, Inc. today announced the initiation of a randomized, placebo and active controlled, multi-center Phase 3 clinical study of Probuphine in the treatment of opioid addiction. This confirmatory Phase 3 study will be conducted at approximately 23 sites in the United States and randomize approximately 250 patients into three arms: Probuphine (100 patients), Suboxone® (100 patients) and placebo (50 patients).

31 Mar 2010

Virginia-based medical practice implements CTT's pain therapy medical device

Competitive Technologies, Inc. announced that a premier physician oncology practice based in Virginia has begun using CTT's Calmare® Therapy pain therapy medical device to treat patients suffering from pain related to cancer, under the direction of several medical oncologists.

24 Mar 2010

Alkermes initiates multidose Phase 1 clinical study of ALKS 37 for OIC

Alkermes, Inc. today announced the initiation of a multidose 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). The randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, repeat-dose study will assess the safety, tolerability and pharmacokinetics of daily oral administration of two dose levels of ALKS 37 for a seven day period in approximately 24 healthy volunteers.

17 Mar 2010

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