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Replies to #69011 on Biotech Values
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apljack

11/25/08 11:09 PM

#69018 RE: DewDiligence #69011

"Getting back to the business model of KG/ALO… does this NYT article alter your opinion about whether some physicians will defensively gravitate to a pain med that contains a claim of abuse resistance in the FDA label?"

The short answer is yes, it does change my opinion, although I must say that I have held a paralllel opinion that many doctors have always maintained a defensive position vis a vis prescribing opioid meds (its one of the main reasons I have taken such a large and miserable position in JAV). I just never thought that a reasonable and prudent pain management doc would ever shy away from using opioids because of liability issues. I stand corrected with a new view of the whole arena.

I also never will believe that opioids will be formulated to be less abusable. If there is a way to abuse them, abusers will do so. Of note, I had some interest in Avinza when it was first out, being a LGND holder at that time, thinking that the same claim of lower abuse potential would make it an attractive new player in the pain market. For what ever reason (and lack of efficacy might be one, but lack of differentiation being the most likely culprit), Avinza has not caught on to the degree that it has become a commonly identified drug of abuse (although the standard ways to abuse it are part of the standard precautions; don't crush the med and take it in any form other than the way it is formulated).

I recall the opening scene for Train Spotting, where the addict gets ahold of a dose phenergen because he's so desperate to get his next fix. When he accidently voids it (in what could be described as the most disgusting bathroom ever presented to the public, LOL) the result is one of the more potent scenes of what an addict would do to avoid losing their fix.

aj