teaser
Tests have shown a new nasal spray designed to combat the bursts of pain which cancer patients experience starts to help them in five minutes, developers have said.
UK-based Archimedes Pharma said NasalFent, a spray which administers fentanyl citrate, had fulfilled the conditions of a clinical study.
It has been developed to provide fast, effective and convenient treatment for breakthrough cancer pain – the sudden, unpredictable episodes of intense pain that occur despite background pain drugs.
They affect up to 95% of all cancer patients, tending to reach a peak about five minutes after starting and lasting between 30 and 60 minutes.
Patients given NasalFent in the study showed a highly statistically significant improvement in how much pain they felt after 30 minutes compared to those given a placebo, the firm said.
Patients also reported statistically significant differences in pain scores after using NasalFent within five minutes of taking it.
Archimedes Pharma said that makes it the first product to have demonstrated pain relief as early as five minutes in a robust large scale phase III programme.
The improvement in pain lasted for 60 minutes after a dose was taken, with statistically significant results measured throughout.
Copyright PA Business 2008
