Immunological and Autoimmune Disorders

The US FDA has voted down Nektar Therapeutics’ opioid painkiller NKTR-181, designed to treat lower back pain.  The FDA’s Anesthetic and Analgesic Drug Products Advisory Committee and the Drug Safety and Risk Management Advisory Committee unanimously has decided not to recommend the use of the painkiller, taking into account the opioid addiction.  NKTR-181 (loxicodegol), a novel mu-opioid agonist, was designed to work on the brain by entering into the cells slowly, with the company emphasizing on its ability to decrease the abuse. The company argued that by slowing down, the rate of the drug entering into cells would help to relieve pain without causing...