ReceptoPharm drug lasts four times longer than morphine

ReceptoPharm, a US biotechnology company, has published positive results from a recent pain study in Toxicon, the official journal of the  International Society on Toxinology.

The study, which examined RPI-78, ReceptoPharm's leading drug candidate  for the treatment of pain, showed that the pain reducing effects of the  drug lasted four times as long as morphine and without the negative side  effects associated with opioid pain relievers.

The study showed that RPI-78 had a dose-dependent inhibitory effect on  the electrical activity of parafascicular nucleus neurons in male Wistar  rats that persisted for at least two hours in comparison to the  inhibitory effect of morphine, which lasted no longer than 30 minutes.  On a molecular basis, RPI-78 was observed to be 4,000 times more potent  than morphine. Additionally, the study saw increased serotonin levels in  subjects treated with the ReceptoPharm drug, which may explain the  improved attitude in those subjects.