CAMBRIDGE, United Kingdom, Sept. 01, 2003 (PRIMEZONE) -- CeNeS Pharmaceuticals plc (LSE:CEN) (Other OTC:CPHAF) today announced that additional data will be presented in the next two months on the potential of M6G (morphine-6-glucuronide) for the treatment of post-operative pain at three major European and North American pain conferences. M6G is currently in phase III of its clinical development for the treatment of post-operative pain.
The conferences are:-
* 2nd September -- 4th Congress of the European Federation of the
International Association of the Study of Pain Chapters -- Prague,
Czech Republic;
* 10th October -- International Pain Research/Euro Pain Meeting --
King's College, London;
* 11th October -- American Society if Anesthesiologists Annual
Meeting- San Francisco, USA
Further details will be announced in due course.
This news release contains forward-looking statements that reflect the Company's current expectation regarding future events. Forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties. Actual events could differ materially from those projected herein and depend on a number of factors including the success of the Company's research strategy, the applicability of the discoveries made therein, the successful and timely completion of clinical studies and the uncertainties related to the regulatory process.
Notes to Editors:
CeNeS is a biopharmaceutical company specialising in the development and commercialisation of drugs for pain control. The company has development assets targeting pain and has a portfolio of carried interests in assets that it has divested. The company is based in Cambridge, England. For further information visit www.cenes.co.uk.
M6G
M6G, a natural metabolite of morphine, is in development by CeNeS for the treatment of moderate to severe pain. Morphine is a highly effective analgesic that has been used for many years despite the unpleasant side effects of nausea and vomiting and the potential dangers of respiratory depression.
M6G has undergone several Phase II clinical trials with more than 450 patients receiving the compound. The most recent Phase II trials were designed to establish the analgesic effects of different doses of M6G administered at different times compared to a standard morphine treatment regime. Phase III efficacy studies are currently being undertaken: a pivotal, dose-ranging placebo controlled study is scheduled to commence as a multi-centre study in Europe in 2003 in patients undergoing knee replacement surgery with spinal anaesthesia. It is planned that this will be followed by a second Phase III trial in Europe comparing M6G and morphine treatment in patients with postoperative pain following gastrointestinal and gynaecological surgery. Side-effect profiles of M6G will be investigated in both studies. If these trials are successful then M6G will be on target to be launched in Europe in 2006.
Opiate Analgesia
Analgesia is the process of pain-relief and any pain-relieving drug is called an analgesic. The most potent known class of analgesics are the opiates, derived from the opium poppy, which confer a high degree of pain-relief for severe pain. Opiates, like morphine and codeine, act centrally in the brain in an area called the periaqueductal grey area where they mimic the actions of neuromodulators called endogenous opiates and 'switch off' the sensation of pain centrally.
The markets for M6G
M6G has potential as an analgesic for two types of pain, post-operative pain and chronic pain, both of which are currently treated with morphine. http://reports.huginonline.com/915745/122470.pdf
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