Pain Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ: PTIE) shares galloped Monday morning after the company announced that it has been awarded a $2.2-million grant from the National Institute on Drug Abuse and $1.8-million grant from the National Institutes of Health.
The former grant provides Pain Therapeutics with a path forward to develop FENROCK™, a drug candidate for severe pain. FENROCK is a transdermal patch that contains the prescription drug fentanyl to manage pain and incorporates novel abuse-deterrent technology.
"We are grateful for NIDA's scientific and financial support for FENROCK", said CEO Remi Barbier.
"This grant underscores the urgent need to better address the abuse potential of currently marketed fentanyl patches."
NIDA's research grant is a technical-milestone based award that will enable Pain Therapeutics to immediately move forward with the development of FENROCK, an early-stage drug candidate. NIDA awarded this research grant to Pain Therapeutics following a competitive, in-depth evaluation of its technology for scientific and technical merit.
Fentanyl is an opioid drug that is up to 100 times more potent than morphine. When used properly by patients under the care of a qualified physician, a fentanyl patch releases drug slowly over 72 hours. This helps to manage pain that is severe enough to require daily around-the-clock, long-term treatment. The downside, however,, fentanyl is also abused by non-patients for its euphoric effects.
Pain Therapeutics, Inc. is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company that develops novel drugs. The FDA has not yet established the safety or efficacy of any of our drug candidates.
Pain shares zoomed 31 cents, or nearly 8% to $4.20 mid-morning Monday.
