PALATINE, Ill., Dec. 11, 2006 (PRIME NEWSWIRE) (PRIMEZONE) -- Acura Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (OTCBB:ACUR), today announced receipt from the United States Patent and Trademark Office of a Notice of Allowance for a non-provisional patent application titled "Methods and Compositions for Deterring Abuse of Opioid Containing Dosage Forms." A U.S. patent relating to this Notice of Allowance will be granted after the Company pays the required fees. The patent claims in the Notice of Allowance are directed to pharmaceutical compositions intended to reduce or discourage the three most common routes of prescription opioid analgesic product misuse and abuse (the Company's "Aversion(r) Technology") including; (i) intravenous injection of dissolved tablets or capsules; (ii) snorting of crushed tablets or capsules and; (iii) intentionally swallowing excess quantities of tablets or capsules. The opioid analgesics in the allowed patent claims include oxycodone, hydrocodone, hydromorphone, morphine, codeine, tramadol, propoxyphene and many others. At present, the Company retains ownership of all intellectual property and commercial rights to its Aversion(r) Technology.
