Anesiva painkiller sees strong Ph II trial data

US drugmaker Anesiva presented strong data from a Phase II trial in total knee replacement surgeries with 4975, its long-acting, non-opioid drug candidate being developed for site-specific, moderate-to-severe pain. The findings, which were presented at the annual meeting of the American Academy of Pain Medicine Meeting, held in New Orleans, Louisiana, showed a trend toward lower concomitant morphine usage in the 4975-treated group over the placebo group, one of multiple secondary endpoints, while the study also met its primary objective of safety and tolerability.

Post-operatively, all patients in the trial self-administered intravenous morphine via a patient-controlled analgesia pump to achieve satisfactory relief for approximately 48-hours following surgery, and a trend toward lower morphine usage was demonstrated for 4975. According to the firm, this is an important finding, as an advantage of 4975 is its potential to reduce the need for opioid drugs, which are well known to have side effects such as sedation, respiratory depression, euphoria, and nausea and vomiting during acute use, and constipation and physical dependence during chronic use.