Skinvisible Inc (SKVI)

[NetworkNewsWire]

SKVI Partnership with Quoin Focuses on Population’s Pain Needs

- Non-binding proposed merger announced on November 27, 2017
- Quoin merger expected to deliver non-opioid relief to post-surgical patients
- Over-65 population with advanced pain needs expected to double within next 30 years
- Skinvisible and Quoin proposed merger expected to deliver better results to patients

Health professionals are preparing for an expected doubling of the 65 years and older population within the next 30 years, creating medical need to address the pain that often becomes a prevalent companion to age. While modern pharmaceuticals have developed opioids and non-steroidal therapies for reducing chronic pain, the drugs are often accompanied by addiction and unwanted side effect concerns. However, Skinvisible, Inc.’s (OTCQB: SKVI) recently announced non-binding merger with Quoin Pharmaceuticals Limited is creating a partnership that may provide alternative solutions at a time when they are needed the most.

Quoin’s products include QRX001, which will provide 72 hours of effective non-opioid pain relief to post-surgical patients, and QRX002, which is an anticipated once-a-day solution for military PTSD patients at risk for suicidal tendencies. QRX001 will be formulated with an NMDA receptor antagonist that has undergone almost 30 pre-clinical trial studies in the United States. The studies have shown that sub-anesthetic doses of the compound reduced morphine consumption controlled by the patient, as well as post-operative nausea and the reported intensity of pain, while adverse events were reportedly mild or non-existent. QRX001 is anticipated to undergo a phase II trial in the coming year.

Leveraging these results, Skinvisible and Quoin hope to help reduce the abuse of prescription painkillers, which has received classification as a national health emergency (http://nnw.fm/5Nh0T). In a recent study reported in JAMA Surgery, 36,000 post-operative patients’ painkiller use was tracked over the course of a half year. The study found that five to six percent of the patients “continued to fill prescriptions for opioids long after what would be considered normal surgical recovery” (http://nnw.fm/K84Dc). In 2016, drug overdose deaths, the majority of them blamed on painkiller dependency, reportedly rose nearly 20 percent over those reported in 2015, according to the New York Times (http://nnw.fm/27Inj). The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported that opioid-related deaths quadrupled between 1999 and 2015 on par with a commensurate increase in the sale of prescription opioids to pharmacies and medical offices during that period (http://nnw.fm/V60zK).

“Pain is prevalent and often under-treated among older adults,” University of Texas at Arlington researcher Robert Gatchel said in a December statement to MD Magazine (http://nnw.fm/iUk9p). “With 20 percent of Americans expected to be 65 or older by 2030, the development of new and effective pain management strategies is a necessity, especially given that 75 percent of people in this age group have two or more chronic conditions such as heart disease, arthritis or diabetes, which complicate the taking of pain medications.”

The completion of the merger between Skinvisible and Quoin is subject to the negotiation of a definitive agreement and other customary closing conditions, including Quoin completing a financing round for clinical development.

For more information, visit the company’s website at www.Skinvisible.com