STAMFORD, Conn., July 13, 2016 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Cara Therapeutics, Inc. (Nasdaq:CARA), a biotechnology company focused on developing and commercializing new chemical entities designed to alleviate pain and pruritus by selectively targeting peripheral kappa opioid receptors, today announced that its preclinical data will be presented in a poster session at the British Association for Psychopharmacology (BAP) 2016 Summer Meeting, to be held in Brighton, UK from July 17 – 22, 2016.
Professor David J. Heal, Ph.D., D.Sc., F.R.C.S., Executive Director at RenaSci, Ltd., will present preclinical data on aspects of CR845's potential for abuse. The findings to be presented support the view that CR845 is unlikely to be recreationally abused or liable to cause physical dependence.
Details of the poster presentation are as follows:
Title: “Investigation of the discriminative and reinforcing properties of the k-opioid receptor agonist CR845 in rats”
Date: Tuesday, July 19
Time: 14:30 - 16:00 BST (9:30 – 11:00 a.m. ET)
Location: The Brighton Centre, Foyer
For more information on the BAP 2016 Summer Meeting, visit https://www.bap.org.uk/BAP2016.
About CR845
CR845 is a peripherally acting kappa opioid receptor agonist currently in development for the treatment of acute and chronic pain and pruritus. In multiple randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled Phase 2 trials in patients undergoing laparoscopic hysterectomy or bunionectomy procedures, I.V. CR845 treatment resulted in statistically significant reductions in both pain intensity and opioid-related side effects. In a human abuse liability trial, I.V. CR845 demonstrated statistically significant reductions in “drug liking,” “feeling high,” “overall liking,” and “take drug again” scores in comparison to I.V. pentazocine, a Schedule IV analgesic.
An oral formulation of CR845 has also been evaluated in a Phase 2a study in osteoarthritis patients and was shown to be well tolerated with twice a day dosing for two weeks, with evidence of decreasing pain scores during that time period.
In more than 818 subjects dosed to date, CR845 was found to be well tolerated, without incurring the dysphoric and psychotomimetic side effects that have been reported with centrally acting (CNS-active) kappa opioid receptor agonists.
About Cara Therapeutics
Cara Therapeutics is a clinical-stage biotechnology company focused on developing and commercializing new chemical entities designed to alleviate pain and pruritus by selectively targeting kappa opioid receptors. Cara is developing a novel and proprietary class of product candidates that target the body's peripheral nervous system and have demonstrated initial efficacy in patients with moderate-to-severe pain without inducing many of the undesirable side effects typically associated with currently available pain therapeutics.