MORRISVILLE, N.C., April 6 /PRNewswire/ -- Cancer patients fraught with painful flare-ups, or breakthrough pain, may soon receive some assistance in the form of a new easy-to-use oral adhesive disc developed by BioDelivery Sciences.
Chronic cancer patients frequently experience two types of pain: persistent and breakthrough. Persistent cancer pain is characterized as continuous pain present for long periods of time.
Breakthrough pain is a brief and often severe shooting of pain that can even afflict patients regularly taking pain medication for persistent pain. It is called breakthrough pain because it "breaks through" a regular pain medicine schedule.
According to the American Cancer Society, it is common for people with persistent pain to also experience episodes of breakthrough pain. Breakthrough pain is unpredictable and manifests itself differently in each person. It typically comes on quickly and lasts as long as an hour, and it can be as severe as persistent pain.
Breakthrough pain is caused either by the cancer itself or the cancer treatment. For some patients, the pain is connected to certain activities, such as walking or dressing. For others, it occurs unexpectedly.
Fast-acting medicines that remain in the body for a short period of time serve as the best treatment for breakthrough pain. Taken "as needed," the medication is used as soon as the breakthrough pain begins. One breakthrough pain medication is the opiate fentanyl.
The next generation of fentanyl is a patient-friendly, small oral adhesive disc called BEMA(TM) Fentanyl, which is currently being testing in Phase 3 trials by BioDelivery Sciences. The BEMA(TM) technology is a layered disc that is applied to a mucosal surface in the same way a transdermal disc is applied to the skin.
The small disc is composed of an adhesive layer and a non-adhesive backing layer, with both layers capable of holding the medicine. The disc adheres to the inside cheeks and delivers the dose of medication. And instead of requiring removal upon completion of the drug delivery, the BEMA(TM) disc disintegrates in the mouth and leaves no drug residue.
In a crossover study comparing BEMA(TM) Fentanyl and Actiq(R), the lozenge formulation of fentanyl that is the current market leader in fast-dissolving fentanyl products for breakthrough cancer pain, results showed that the BEMA(TM) Fentanyl formulation provided for faster absorption and greater concentration of the drug.
"The results of our study demonstrated that fentanyl could be delivered more effectively and easily using the BEMA(TM) technology," said BioDelivery CEO Mark Sirgo. "Besides allowing greater absorption of fentanyl, the BEMA(TM) disc was easier to use, as it only required seconds to apply."
According to the World Health Organization, pain is a prevalent symptom in cancer patients, affecting up to 50% of those undergoing active cancer treatment and up to 90% of those with advanced disease. For more information on BEMA(TM) Fentanyl, log on to http://www.bdsinternational.com
BioDelivery SciencesCONTACT: Janet Vasquez, +1-212-825-3210, for BioDelivery Sciences
Web site: http://www.bdsinternational.com/
