Elan to launch new painkiller in US

Irish pharmaceutical giant Elan aims to launch a new painkiller in the US early next year since reporting positive results from clinical trials of the product.

The group announced that its recent Phase III trial for Prialt met results in patients with severe chronic pain who had not achieved pain relief with other therapies, including intrathecally delivered morphine.

Elan described the treatement as safe, efficacious, and well tolerated.

Lars Ekman, executive vice president of Research & Development at Elan, said he was very encouraged by the results and described the findings as significant news for patients suffering with severe chronic pain.

The group submitted an application for approval for marketing Prialt in the EU in May 2003 and Elan hopes to market the painkiller by early 2005.