STAMFORD, Conn., Sept. 29, 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 it will host an industry symposium titled “Moving Beyond Mu with Kappa Opioid Receptor Agonists - Leaving the Baggage Behind” at the Orthopaedic Trauma Association 2016 Annual Meeting, which will be held October 5-8, 2016 at the Gaylord National Resort & Convention Center in National Harbor, Maryland.
The symposium will feature a discussion with pain experts on the impact of the opioid epidemic on orthopaedic surgery and the latest developments in analgesia, including efficacy, safety, and abuse potential results from Cara’s acute and chronic pain and human abuse liability studies of CR845, the Company’s first-in-class peripherally selective kappa opioid agonist. The findings to be presented support the view that CR845 is unlikely to be recreationally abused or lead to physical dependence.
The symposium details are as follows:
Date: Thursday, October 6, 2016
Time: 11:45 a.m. – 12:45 p.m. ET
Location: National Harbor 6, Level 3, Gaylord National Resort & Convention Center, National Harbor, MD
Moderator: Joseph Stauffer, D.O., M.B.A., Chief Medical Officer, Cara Therapeutics; Assistant Professor, Department of Anesthesiology & Critical Care Medicine, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine
Faculty: Hassan R. Mir, M.D., M.B.A., F.A.C.S., Director of Orthopaedic Residency Program, Associate Professor, University of South Florida; Director of Orthopaedic Trauma Research, Florida Orthopaedic Institute
For more information on the Orthopaedic Trauma Association 2016 Annual Meeting, visit: http://ota.org/education/2016-ota-annual-meeting/.
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 is currently being evaluated in a Phase 2b study in osteoarthritis patients and was shown in a Phase 2a study to be well tolerated with twice a day dosing for two weeks, with evidence of decreasing pain scores during that time period.
In approximately 1,150 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 peripheral 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.