re LDN IMPORTS / Celia

[Guest guest]

Just searched the news (see below) ... there's a new drug that combines

morphine and naltrexone - this type of drug would have to be listed as a

'controlled substance' due to the morphine component.

....

FDA Sees a Small Advance With Alpharma Painkiller

By JENNIFER CORBETT DOOREN

NOVEMBER 16, 2008, 10:01 P.M. ET

A Food and Drug Administration panel said on Friday that a new, proposed

formulation of an Alpharma Inc. morphine pill was a " small advance " that

could be less susceptible to abuse and misuse than similar pain pills on

the market.

The drug, Embeda, is a controlled-release form of morphine designed to cut

down on abuse. Many drug abusers break down controlled-release pain

medicines by dissolving pills in alcohol and injecting the mixture to get

all the effects at once, creating a heroin-like high.

Controlled-release drugs like morphine or drugs such as OxyContin with a

different active ingredient, oxycodone, are supposed to be swallowed whole

and have pain medicine released over 12 hours.

Alpharma, based in Bridgewater, N.J., designed Embeda by combining morphine

with naltrexone, which limits the effectiveness of morphine because both

chemicals act on the same receptors in the brain if the pill is broken or

tampered with. If swallowed as directed, the naltrexone component is

designed to stay inside the tablet and then pass through the

gastrointestinal tract, thereby allowing the morphine to act as intended.

The issue isn't whether Embeda works to treat pain; it is whether the drug

could be approved and labeled as a product that could cut abuse. While the

panel didn't take a vote on whether it thought Embeda should be approved,

many panel members said they thought it might offer an incremental advance

at deterring prescription-drug abuse.

The FDA is expected to make a decision on Embeda by Dec. 30.

Alpharma conducted two studies in people that looked at whether they felt

" high " after taking a combination of morphine and naltrexone, morphine

alone or placebo. People taking straight morphine were more likely to

report feeling high than those taking morphine combined with naltrexone.

However, the FDA said it was concerned that drug abusers could figure out a

way to separate the morphine and naltrexone components of the drug. The

agency also said it wasn't clear what would happen if Embeda was crushed

and snorted or chewed.

ph Stauffer, Alpharma's chief medical officer, said a " very determined

abuser " could manipulate the pill. But, he said, " We believe this

medication provides roadblocks. "

Most panel members agreed with the company that Embeda could be harder for

drug abusers to tamper with.

" It's an advance, but it's a small advance, " said Nussmeier, a

professor at State University of New York in Syracuse. " We didn't hear

anything about potential for chewing or snorting or heating it or cooking

it. "

In September, King Pharmaceuticals Inc., Bristol, Tenn., made an

unsolicited offer to acquire Alpharma that is pending until Friday.

Alpharma's board of directors has recommended that shareholders reject the

King offer.

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB122688917223832613.html?mod=googlenews_wsj

LDN IMPORTS

Hi Celia,

There's been a little agitation in the news here in Oz - around a

Naltrexone implant.

Essentially, pharmaceutical and manufactured products that treat addiction

are either being trialled at present, or are in the product pipeline.

In a commercialised environment, pre-marketing and anti-competitive

behaviour are sometimes employed, and sadly, the health industry is a fully

commercialised environment.

Makes me think there could be a new product on the horizon,

Cris

7a. LDN IMPORTS

Posted by: " Celia " celia@... redharvester2001

Date: Mon Dec 8, 2008 10:44 am ((PST))

I have just heard that LDN is going to be stopped being imported to GB, has

anyone else heard of this?

Thanks

Celia