FORT LEE, N.J., Feb. 28 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Alpharma Inc. , a leading global specialty pharmaceutical company, today announced its support of the National Addictions Vigilance Intervention and Prevention Program (NAVIPPRO). Developed by Inflexxion, Inc. of Newton, MA, with additional support from the National Institute on Drug Abuse, NAVIPPRO is designed to be a real-time national drug abuse monitoring system for prescription opioid medications. It will support pharmaceutical risk management planning through signal detection, signal verification and geo- spatial mapping. In addition, the NAVIPPRO system will provide content-rich data that will help its subscribers understand product-specific patterns of misuse, abuse, and diversion.
“Many authorities have recognized that more robust and innovative approaches to understanding and closely tracking the public health dilemmas of under-treated pain and prescription opioid abuse are needed in order to make better progress on these urgent societal issues,” stated Nathaniel Katz, MD, MS, Medical Director for Risk Management Strategies at Inflexxion. “NAVIPPRO was designed to fill the gaps in existing approaches to surveillance and intervention.”
Ronald Warner, PhD, President of Alpharma Pharmaceuticals commented, “As one of the founders of NAVIPPRO, we anticipate this program will provide valuable information to support Alpharma’s mission to improve the treatment of chronic pain by becoming a leader in the development of abuse-deterrent opioid products. This new collaboration will help us identify risk areas so that we can develop solutions to maximize drug safety and minimize misuse of prescription pain medications. We look forward to incorporating it into our emerging risk management program.”
Using data from substance abuse treatment centers across the country, the NAVIPPRO system will detect changes in prescription opioid drug abuse patterns and estimate relative rates of abuse based on careful statistical methodologies.
“We expect that NAVIPPRO will become the standard monitoring tool in prescription opioid risk management, enabling industry leaders and other critical stakeholders to focus on emergent trends in substance abuse, and helping them to quickly adjust their responses accordingly,” commented Simon Budman, PhD, founder and CEO of Inflexxion.
About Inflexxion, Inc.
Inflexxion Inc., founded in 1989, creates behavioral health solutions for prevention, education and disease management using engaging interactive multimedia and Internet technologies. Inflexxion develops clinically tested programs for substance abuse and addiction, campus health, cancer, HIV, pain management, women’s health and other wellness issues. These innovative programs help health professionals, pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies deliver quality care to diverse populations. The Pain & Opioid Risk Management Division builds custom tools, products and services to support the risk management initiatives of companies that research, manufacture and market opioid pain medications and other therapeutic agents with potential abuse problems. Key offerings include PainEDU.org and SOAPP(R). Inflexxion is based in Newton, MA.
About Alpharma Inc.
Alpharma Inc. is a global specialty pharmaceutical company with leadership positions in products for humans and animals. Alpharma is presently active in more than 60 countries. Alpharma has a growing branded franchise in the chronic pain market with its morphine-based extended release KADIAN(R) product. In addition, Alpharma is among the world’s leading producers of several specialty pharmaceutical-grade bulk antibiotics and is internationally recognized as a leading provider of pharmaceutical products for poultry and livestock.
Alpharma Inc.
CONTACT: Kathleen Makrakis, VP, Investor Relations, +1-201-228-5085,kathleen.makrakis@alpharma.com
Web site: http://www.alpharma.com/
