Alitair Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a clinical stage pharmaceutical company focused on respiratory health, today announced the issuance of U.S. Patent No. 9,211,292, covering its prescription drug overdose reduction technology, ODR™ . ODR™ is designed to modulate drug release and reduce the risk of prescription drug overdose regardless of how many tablets or capsules are ingested, providing appropriate release of a drug at labeled doses but limiting release at excessive doses.
Prescription drug overdose is a growing crisis in the U.S., resulting in more than one million emergency department visits annually, at an estimated cost of $4 billion per year. Those one million emergency department visits result in approximately 150,000 hospital admissions per year at an estimated cost of $1.4 billion annually. Prescription drug overdoses result in more than 20,000 deaths annually, more than double the number of deaths caused by illegal drug abuse.
Alitair’s ODR™ technology is not a behavioral program and does not involve any training, education, or labeling. ODR™ is a drug delivery technology that functions passively as part of a drug’s dosage form, limiting the amount of drug released in the digestive system based on the total amount of drug ingested. With ODR™, safety is built in to the dosage form using approved excipients and well-established manufacturing technology.
“With more than 20,000 individuals dying each year from prescription drug overdose, there is an urgent need for a technology that prevents these overdoses, many of which are accidental,” said Alitair President and CEO, William W. Howard, Ph.D. “ODR™ has the potential to protect patients from prescription drug overdose, and ODR™ also includes abuse deterrence properties. It cannot be circumvented by crushing capsules or tablets and smoking or snorting the actives. Initial testing indicates that ODR™ can work across a broad range of prescription drugs including opioids, antidepressants and tranquilizers. Clinical testing in humans is the next step for ODR™.”
Alitair Pharmaceuticals, Inc., discovers, invents, and develops medicines for the treatment of respiratory illnesses. Alitair has two clinical stage product candidates under development that have been granted orphan designations for the treatment of bronchiectasis. Alitair has also out-licensed two prescription cough products. Additional information about Alitair is available on the Alitair website at www.alitair.com.
