Concentric Analgesics Announces Data Highlighting Two Weeks of Durable Pain Relief and Earlier Cessation of Opioids in Two Surgical Procedures
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Clinical Data from Phase 2 Studies in Total Knee Arthroplasty (TKA) and Bunionectomy to be Presented at the 2024 International Association for the Study of Pain (IASP) World Congress
Concentric Analgesics, Inc., a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company developing novel, non-opioid pain therapeutics, today announced a poster presentation of additional favorable clinical data for vocacapsaicin, its first-in-class lead product candidate for the management of postsurgical pain, at the 2024 International Association for the Study of Pain (IASP) World Congress being held August 5- 9, 2024 in Amsterdam, Netherlands.
Vocacapsaicin is unlike anything on the market today, given its unique mechanism of action enabling long-lasting postsurgical analgesia.
The presentation “TRPV1 from Bench to Bedside: Vocacapsaicin Produces Durable Postsurgical Analgesia and Earlier Opioid Cessation” includes data from previously announced results of vocacapsaicin in Phase 2 trials for patients undergoing total knee arthroplasty (TKA) and bunionectomy. Both studies were multi-center, randomized, controlled clinical trials measuring postsurgical analgesia and opioid consumption following a single intra-operative administration of vocacapsaicin.
Vocacapsaicin is an innovative, water-soluble prodrug of capsaicin. Vocacapsaicin rapidly releases capsaicin at the surgical site after a single local administration during surgery which triggers activation of the TRPV1 receptor on pain-specific nerves. TRPV1 activation is known to produce analgesia that lasts for weeks to months without causing sensory numbness or motor weakness. This is a highly differentiated mechanism of action from local anesthetics, such as bupivacaine including extended-release formulations, which are shorter-acting and produce sensory numbness and motor weakness.
In the poster, separate trials in bunionectomy and total knee arthroplasty are presented showing durable analgesia that lasted for two weeks with reduced opioid usage and earlier opioid cessation following both surgeries. The data from the bunionectomy trial were recently published in the August issue of the journal ANESTHESIOLOGY, while this is the first presentation of the data on opioid cessation from the TKA trial.
Following bunionectomy, all patients receiving an effective dose of vocacapsaicin were able to stop opioid analgesic medication by 5 days compared to 16% in the placebo group who still required opioids, half of which were still using opioids at the end of the two-week study. The differences were statistically significant.
At two weeks following total knee arthroplasty, 50% more patients in the placebo group still required opioid analgesia compared to the vocacapsaicin group (58% vs 38%, respectively). The difference was also statistically significant.
The risk of persistent opioid use, a known risk factor for opioid dependence and abuse, increases most sharply in patients who continue taking opioids after five days. The United States Congress recently passed the Non-Opioids Prevent Addiction in the Nation (NO PAIN) Act, set to go into effect January 2025, which will increase patient and provider access to non-opioid pain management options by removing the barriers associated with reimbursement for the Medicare population.
Harold Minkowitz, M.D., President of Analgesics, Perioperative & Hospital Based Research at the HD Research LLC, an Evolution Research Group portfolio company and an investigator in both studies stated, “Vocacapsaicin is unlike anything on the market today, given its unique mechanism of action enabling long-lasting postsurgical analgesia. This distinct property allows for earlier cessation of opioids, an effect that has not been seen before with a single drug administration. If approved, vocacapsaicin will revolutionize post-operative pain management.”
“The results of both studies are impressive,” said Edwin Su, M.D., Attending Orthopedic Surgeon, Hospital for Special Surgery and Professor of Orthopedic Surgery, Weill Cornell Medical College. “The TKA data is particularly important given that pain after joint replacement can last for weeks. The reduction in opioid consumption over two weeks was accompanied by earlier ambulation that will likely translate into earlier discharge, faster recovery and fewer callbacks. Vocacapsaicin has the potential to be an important addition to care pathways and meaningfully improve patient recovery after joint replacement.”
John Donovan, M.D., Founder and Chief Scientific Officer at Concentric Analgesics, noted, “In 2018, vocacapsaicin received Breakthrough Therapy Designation from the FDA for its effect on reducing opioid usage. The data from these two trials covering a variety of clinically meaningful opioid endpoints extend our understanding about the impact of vocacapsaicin on opioid reliance after surgery and have us well-positioned for Phase 3 trials and bringing a much needed innovative therapeutic to patients.”
Opioid Use and Abuse After Painful Surgery
Effective management of pain after surgery remains an unmet medical need. More than 30 million surgeries are performed in the U.S. annually that require prescription drugs for pain management. Oral opioid analgesics remain an integral part of postsurgical pain management despite common side effects, safety concerns, and the risk of persistent opioid use which can lead to abuse and beyond. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, more than 80,000 Americans died from opioid overdoses in 2022 – more than the annual total number of deaths from automobile accidents and gun deaths combined.
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