Orexo (STO:ORX) touted results today from a 20-person pharmacokinetic study of its OX124-001 naloxone nasal spray.
The company’s product is designed to reverse opioid overdoses. In the PK study, Orexo compared its drug to Narcan – the market-leading naloxone rescue medication.
Sweden-based Orexo reported that all formulations of OX124 were well-tolerated by study participants and showed “substantially higher” plasma concentrations of naloxone compared to Narcan. OX124 also had sustained duration of elevated plasma concentrations and equivalent or superior onset time compared to Narcan, according to Orexo.
In a statement, the company said it plans to develop a proprietary rescue drug “capable of reversing any overdose, irrespective of which type of opioid has caused it.”
“OX124 forms part of our important work to tackle the opioid crisis in the US, and I am very encouraged by the positive results generated by our R&D team. We look forward to advancing OX124 and OX125 and remain confident that we will be able to develop a product for opioid overdose reversal, in line with our strategy to expand our US commercial footprint,” president & CEO Nikolaj Sørensen said in prepared remarks.
“We are very pleased with the positive results from the PK study which demonstrate OX124’s potential to improve the ability to reverse the effect of the most powerful synthetic opioids. The results also pave the way for Orexo to develop a new technology platform that shows great promise for further product development,” Robert Rönn, VP & head of R&D, added.
