Managing Chronic Moderate to Severe Pain—EMBEDA® (Morphine Sulfate and Naltrexone Hydrochloride) Extended Release Capsules for Oral Use
Managing Chronic Moderate to Severe Pain—EMBEDA® (Morphine Sulfate and Naltrexone Hydrochloride) Extended Release Capsules for Oral Use
US Neurology, 2010;6(1):18–22
Abstract
EMBEDA® (morphine sulfate and naltrexone hydrochloride) Extended Release Capsules for oral use, indicated for the management of chronic moderate to severe pain, contain extended-release pellets of morphine sulfate with a sequestered core of naltrexone, an opioid antagonist. When EMBEDA is taken orally as directed, it is bioequivalent with regard to rate and extent of plasma morphine absorption to KADIAN® (morphine sulfate extended-release) Capsules, a similar formulation without naltrexone. EMBEDA has been shown to be significantly superior to placebo in maintaining pain relief over 12 weeks and, in one of the longest durability studies, to reduce pain intensity for up to 12 months. Upon tampering by crushing EMBEDA, naltrexone is released to mitigate morphine-induced euphoria. Euphoria and drug-liking measures after oral administration of intact or crushed EMBEDA were similar, and were reduced compared with morphine sulfate solution; crushing EMBEDA did not yield more euphoria and desirability for abuse than the intact product. The most common adverse events after long-term use were constipation, nausea, and vomiting, which are typical of opioids. Over long-term use as directed, there was no evidence of naltrexone accumulation or opioid withdrawal. The impact of formulations such as EMBEDA on the abuse rate among real-world abusers requires long-term epidemiologic studies.
Keywords
Abuse, euphoria, morphine, naltrexone, opioid, pain
Disclosure: Christopher Gharibo, MD, is on the speaker’s bureau for Endo Pharmaceuticals, Johnson & Johnson, King Pharmaceuticals®, Inc., and Pfizer Inc., and has consulted for Becton Dickinson, Endo Pharmaceuticals, and King Pharmaceuticals®, Inc.
Received: June 17, 2010 Accepted: July 14, 2010 Citation: US Neurology, 2010;6(1):18–22
Correspondence: Christopher Gharibo, MD, NYU–HJD Center for Study and Treatment of Pain, 301 East 17th Street, Suite 1001, New York, NY 10003. E: christopher.gharibo@nyumc.org
Support: The publication of this article was funded by King Pharmaceuticals®, Inc. Writing and editorial assistance for this manuscript was provided by Quintiles Medical Communications, Parsippany, NJ. Funding for writing and editorial assistance was provided by King Pharmaceuticals®, Inc., Bridgewater, NJ.
Opioids are a treatment option for moderate to severe pain in appropriately selected patients who have not responded to non-opioid therapies.1 Extended-release opioid formulations can be especially beneficial for the management of chronic moderate to severe pain because they release opioid over a sustained period, resulting in prolonged duration of action (eight to 24 hours for oral formulations) (see Figure 1).2,3 The potential benefits of extended-release formulations include sustained pain relief, the possibility of lengthening dosing intervals, reduction in euphoric effects compared with immediate-release formulations because of the slower rise in peak plasma morphine levels and lower peak levels, pre-emptive treatment of pain, potential for reduced side effects without the peak-related toxicity of immediate-release formulations, reduced end-of-dose pain and withdrawal symptoms, reduced pill burden, ease of compliance, better sleep and general improvement that come from better functionality, and an improved quality of life.4–7 Extended-release opioid formulations, however, can be especially attractive to opioid abusers because of the relatively large amount of opioid per unit dose compared with that in immediate-release formulations.5 In response to the rising rates of opioid abuse and unintentional deaths from drug overdose, the US Department of Health and Human Services Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has encouraged pharmaceutical manufacturers to modify opioid formulations to make them more difficult to tamper with or to block the effect of the opioid if they are crushed, or dissolved and injected.8 Opioids can be abused by a variety of methods and routes of administration, including simple one- or twostep methods such as swallowing intact or crushed/chewed product or inhaling crushed or solubilized product, and more complex methods such as multistep extraction processes to solubilize an active ingredient to be administered by injection or other routes.5,9,10 A study among US college students indicated that the most frequent routes of administration for non-medical use of prescription opioids were oral (97%) and intranasal (13%).11
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Abuse, euphoria, morphine, naltrexone, opioid, pain
