FDA Approves 'Abuse-Resistant' Narcotic Painkiller

In continuation of my update on Hydrocodone

Seeking to make it tougher for people to misuse prescription painkillers, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration on Thursday approved a new hydrocodone tablet that's designed to help thwart abuse.

Hydrocodone -- best known by the brand name Vicodin (combination of Hydrocodone and Paracetamol) - is a powerful opioid painkiller that has been tied to a surge in dangerous addictions across the United States.

The FDA said that newly approved Hysingla ER (hydrocodone bitartrate) is an extended-release tablet to treat pain severe enough to require daily, round-the-clock, long-term opioid treatment that can't be eased by other pain medications.

The drug is not approved for "as-needed" pain relief, the agency said.

Hysingla has features that are expected to reduce, but not prevent, abuse of the drug. According to the FDA, the tablet is difficult to crush, break or dissolve, making it tougher for abusers to snort or inject it.

FDA Approves 'Abuse-Resistant' Narcotic Painkiller  

FDA Supports Phase 3 Trial for NGX-1998 | News | Drug Discovery and Development Magazine

NeurogesX Inc., a specialty pharmaceutical company focused on developing and commercializing a portfolio of novel non-opioid, pain management therapies, provided an update on its regulatory process for NGX-1998 (see below structure), the company's next generation liquid formulation of prescription-strength capsaicin. NeurogesX has received End-of-Phase 2 guidance from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) regarding its previously announced plans for the Phase 3 clinical development of NGX-1998 as a treatment for neuropathic pain conditions, including key elements of its overall development plan related to manufacturing, applicator development, and clinical trial design.

FDA Supports Phase 3 Trial for NGX-1998 | News | Drug Discovery and Development Magazine

Poisonous shrub (Jatropha curcas) extract may act as natural painkiller.....

Poisonous shrub extract may act as natural painkiller

Lidocaine IV injection as pain killer after ambulatory surgery ?

We know that, Lidocaine or lignocaine is a common local anesthetic and antiarrhythmic drug. Lidocaine is used topically to relieve itching, burning and pain from skin inflammations, injected as a dental anesthetic or as a local anesthetic for minor surgery.

Now researchers from University of Virginia, Charlottesville, have come up with interesting info about the same drug. As per the claim by the researchers low doses of lidocaine given intravenously can help to control pain after common ambulatory surgery procedures. Intravenous lidocaine may offer a safe, inexpensive, and effective option for improving pain control after minimally invasive or minor surgery, reports the new study led by Dr Danja S. Groves of University of Virginia, Charlottesville. The results are surprising, because local anesthetics such as lidocaine are usually injected close to the nerve to numb the area for surgery. Though the anestheas (higher dose) are toxic, previous studies have found that that IV lidocaine injection is safe in small doses. Though the mode of action and anti inflammatory activity are still to be expalined, is a good achievement...

Ref : http://www.newswise.com/articles/view/559452/

New Drug Application for Tramadol....

About Tramadol :

Tramadol is a centrally acting analgesic, used for treating moderate to severe pain. Tramadol was developed by the German pharmaceutical company Grünenthal GmbH in the late 1970.

Tramadol possesses agonist actions at the μ-opioid receptor and affects reuptake at the noradrenergic and serotonergic systems. Tramadol is a compound with mild and delayed μ-agonist activity.

Tramadol is a synthetic stripped-down analog of Codeine and, as such, is an opioid. The opioid agonistic effect of tramadol and its major metabolite(s) almost exclusively effects the μ-opioid receptor. This characteristic is notable, because even morphine is not exclusive to the μ-receptor, although it manifests the preponderance of its opioid agonistic effects here. Tramadol is used to treat moderate to moderately severe pain and most types of neuralgia, including trigeminal neuralgia.

Recently, Par Pharmaceutical Companies, Inc received FDA approval for the abbreviated New Drug Application for the 100mg and 200mg strengths of tramadol ER.....

Source : http://www.parpharm.com/media/NR_20091116.jsp