ALPHARMA TO BEGIN PAINKILLER TRIAL

Alpharma has announced that the FDA has allowed the company to proceed with a midstage clinical trial for an opioid painkiller that discourages abuse.

The company said the Phase II trial will test the unnamed product in patients with moderate-to-severe cancer pain, and in patients with lower-back pain or pain resulting from osteoarthritis.

The product uses technology that combines the opioid painkiller with a substance that can block the action of the painkiller. When someone crushes, chews, or dissolves the product in order to get high, the substance is released, effectively canceling out the opioid.