Pain Therapeutics Initiates Phase III Study With Oxytrex(TM)

Pain Therapeutics, Inc. (Nasdaq: PTIE) today announced the initiation of a Phase III study with Oxytrex, an investigational drug. Oxytrex is a unique oral painkiller for patients who suffer from persistent severe chronic pain. The Company believes Oxytrex offers less physical dependence/withdrawal than oxycodone, an 80-year-old prescription painkiller still widely used today to treat persistent severe chronic pain.

„We remain encouraged by the strong science around Oxytrex published in several top journals, including a recent article in Journal of Neurobiology that further elucidates the unique attributes of ultra-low-dose opioid antagonists,“ said Remi Barbier, president and chief executive officer.

This study is being referred to as the „Extreme Study“ in deference to patients who depend on extremely high daily doses of oxycodone (greater than or equal to 120 mg per day) to treat severe chronic pain. The Company believes this sub-population of patients is prone to physical dependence/withdrawal.

In the second half of 2007, Pain Therapeutics plans to initiate a large study with Oxytrex in a broad patient population.

„Extreme Study“ Design

This clinical study is randomized, double-blinded, multi-center and placebo-controlled. The study will enroll approximately 120 patients who have each been taking greater than or equal to 120 mg of oxycodone per patient per day for over a year. Patients who meet this and all other eligibility requirements are randomized to receive twice-daily doses of 100 nanograms (i.e., 0.0001 mg) ultra-low-dose naltrexone or matching placebo for two weeks. At the conclusion of the treatment period, patients check into a clinic and receive an injection of a high-dose opioid antagonist to precipitate withdrawal. During the withdrawal phase of the study, patients are closely monitored and measured for signs and symptoms of physical dependence/withdrawal using the Subjective Opiate Withdrawal Scale. The study’s primary endpoint is prospectively defined as physical dependence/withdrawal scores in the treated arm compared to placebo. For ethical and other reasons, the study protocol allows an interim analysis.

About Oxytrex

Pain Therapeutics owns commercial rights to Oxytrex, a unique oral painkiller that preferentially inhibits an excitatory effect of opioid receptors. This excitatory effect is believed to counteract analgesia (pain relief) and cause tolerance. Its inhibition enhances pain relief and minimizes opioid tolerance. The FDA has not yet evaluated the merits, safety or efficacy of Oxytrex.

http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/58973.php

Oxytrex (Pain Therapeutics, Inc.) is an oral opioid that combines a therapeutic amount of oxycodone with an ultra-low dose of the antagonist naltrexone. Animal data indicate that this combination minimizes the development of physical dependence and analgesic tolerance while prolonging analgesia. Oxytrex is in late-stage clinical development by Pain Therapeutics for the treatment of moderate-to-severe chronic pain. To evaluate the safety and efficacy of the oxycodone/naltrexone combination, three clinical studies have been conducted, one in healthy volunteers and the other two in patients with chronic pain. The putative mechanism of ultra-low-dose naltrexone is to prevent an alteration in G-protein coupling by opioid receptors that is associated with opioid tolerance and dependence. Opioid agonists are initially inhibitory but become excitatory through constant opioid receptor activity. The agonist/antagonist combination of Oxytrex may reduce the conversion from an inhibitory to an excitatory receptor, thereby decreasing the development of tolerance and physical dependence.

PMID: 17685875 [PubMed – indexed for MEDLINE]

Opioid Antagonists, Naloxone & Naltrexone — Aids for Pain Management

Achieving effective, durable, and safe pain relief, especially
in patients with chronic and/or severe pain conditions,
can be a clinical challenge. For many types of pain, prescription
opioids are among the most effective analgesics [Fine
and Portenoy 2004]. However, there could be concerns about the
development of opioid tolerance or adverse effects, and in some
cases opioids seem to worsen pain (eg, hyperalgesia) [Compton
2008; DuPen et al. 2007; Stein et al. 2003]. For certain difficult
conditions, such as fibromyalgia or neuropathies, opioids alone are
sometimes considered of limited effectiveness [Chou et al. 2009].
Healthcare providers interested in pain management must be
alert to new or novel approaches that help to overcome deficiencies
of opioids, such as treatment-limiting side effects, and as aids
in relieving difficult-to-treat pain conditions. In this regard, there is
a growing body of evidence suggesting potential benefits of opioid
antagonists.
Opioid antagonists — in particular, naloxone and naltrexone —
have been available and studied for decades as agents that displace
opioid molecules from their neuroreceptors, and block
opioids from attaching to and activating those receptors. Such
qualities can be of important benefit, as short-acting antagonists
like naloxone are used effectively to quickly reverse toxic effects of
opioid overmedication or overdose.
Laboratory research and clinical trials have demonstrated the
unexpected, paradoxical effects of opioid antagonists as adjuvants
for enhancing rather than attenuating analgesic effects of opioids
like morphine, oxycodone, and others. Further benefits of opioid
antagonists, as monotherapy, for better managing certain chronic
pain conditions also have been discovered.

OpioidAntagonistsForPain

Challenges in Using Opioids to Treat Pain in Persons With Substance Use Disorders

Pain and substance abuse co-occur frequently, and each can make the other more difficult to treat. A knowledge of pain and its interrelationships with addiction enhances the addiction specialist’s efficacy with many patients, both in the substance abuse setting and in collaboration with pain specialists. This article discusses the neurobiology and clinical presentation of pain and its synergies with substance use disorders, presents methodical approaches to the evaluation and treatment of pain that co-occurs with substance use disorders, and provides practical guidelines for the use of opioids to treat pain in individuals with histories of addiction. The authors consider that every pain complaint deserves careful investigation and every patient in pain has a right to effective treatment.

Read more:

Challenges

A Comparison of the Abuse Liability of Tramadol, NSAIDs, and Hydrocodone in Patients with Chronic Pain

Concern about abuse/dependence in chronic pain patients taking opioid analgesics may lead
to undertreatment of pain, yet little is known about the prevalence of abuse/dependence in
these patients and how it differs among analgesic agents. The objective of this study was to
assess the prevalence of tramadol abuse compared to nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs
(NSAIDs) and hydrocodone-containing analgesics in patients with chronic noncancer pain
(CNP). The study had three arms. The first arm consisted of subjects prescribed tramadol
alone; the second of subjects randomized to either NSAIDs or tramadol; and the third of
subjects randomized to hydrocodone or tramadol. Each investigator received two boxes of
prescriptions randomized so that one in every four prescriptions was for tramadol. Upon
deciding on the therapeutically appropriate arm, the physician selected the appropriate box,
opened the next envelope and completed the enclosed prescription. After the initial
randomization, physicians could prescribe whatever medication was therapeutically
appropriate. A total of 11,352 subjects were enrolled. Up to nine interviews using
a structured questionnaire were conducted over a 12-month period. An algorithm called the
‘‘Abuse Index’’ was developed to identify subjects who were abusing the drug. The primary
components of the index were increasing dose without physician approval, use for purposes
other than intended, inability to stop its use, and withdrawal.

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