QRxPharma hits on right dose

Sydney’s QRxPharma has completed a Phase III pilot study comparing the efficacy of its lead dual-opioid with its constituent parts.

The lead drug, MoxDuo IR, a combination of morphine and oxycodone, was found to reduce pain significantly more than its component parts, and had fewer side effects than the two drugs administered together.

QRxPharama is in Phase III trials with the immediate release version of MoxDuo and in earlier stage trials for controlled release and intravenous administration. It is also being compared against Percocet in joint replacement surgery.

Besides its analgesia work, the company is also developing a known compound to activate the chaperone protein Torsin for neurological diseases such as Parkinson’s, and has an anti-haemorrhagic and an anti-coagulant derived from venoms in pre-clinical trials.