Singapore: Melbourne-based Phosphagenics completed a pre-clinical study demonstrating that its oxycodone/TPM technology can reduce local pain without the need to deliver oxycodone into the bloodstream.

This discovery has significant commercial implications and the company intends to commence clinical trials in the third quarter of 2013. These trials would be additional to the current oxymorphone and oxycodone patch trials.

The finding stems from TPM's unique ability to deliver molecules in a targeted manner either into the skin or through the skin into the bloodstream, by modifying the formulation. Phosphagenics has formulated TPM to deliver compounds into the skin for its many topical dermatological and personal care applications.

In the pre-clinical study on oxycodone/TPM for localized pain, TPM was formulated to deliver oxycodone into the localized area of application, without spillage into the blood. A topical opioid able to act directly on inflamed tissue, without delivery into the systemic circulation, could eliminate all side effects associated with ingestion of the oral dosage form.

Phosphagenics' CEO, Dr Esra Ogru, said that the company was keen to expand its pain portfolio and progress further trials of topical TPM oxycodone technology. There is no topical opioid product on the market and sales of non-opioid pain drugs prescribed for localized pain exceed $4 billion annually. Endo Pharmaceutical's market leading topical pain product, Lidoderm, is used to treat neuropathic pain but belongs to a different class of non-opioid analgesic compounds.