(Reuters) -Viatris said on Thursday that its fast-acting form of generic pain drug meloxicam met the main goals of two late-stage studies.
The company’s shares rose 4.1% in premarket trading.
Viatris expects to seek marketing approval for the drug from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration by the end of the year.
One of the studies was in patients who had undergone surgeries to repair hernia, while the other, followed a surgical procedure to correct bunions, a deformity at the big toe joint.
In both the studies, the drug led to improvement in pain compared to placebo, as measured by a commonly used scale to evaluate the effectiveness of pain treatments, called Sum of Pain Intensity Difference.
It also helped reduce usage of opioids, which are highly addictive, over the entire treatment phase.
“The data observed in two surgical models… is a critical step in the development of a safe and effective non-opioid option to address an important public health need,” said Philippe Martin, Viatris’ research and development chief.
(Reporting by Puyaan Singh in Bengaluru; Editing by Shailesh Kuber)
Brought to you by www.srnnews.com
