• AcelRx Pharmaceuticals Inc., of Redwood City, Calif., reported top-line data from a Phase III trial demonstrating that the Sufentanil NanoTab PCA System was noninferior (p < 0.001) to intravenous patient-controlled analgesia with morphine for the primary endpoint of Patient Global Assessment (PGA) of method of pain control over the 48-hour study period as determined by the combined percentage of patients with PGA ratings of "good" or "excellent" (78.5 percent vs. 66.1 percent, respectively). Data are being presented at the New York State Society of Anesthesiologists PostGraduate Assembly meeting in New York.

• Biotron Ltd., of Sydney, Australia, said it expects to deliver preliminary data from a Phase Ib/IIa study of lead HIV drug, BIT225, in the March quarter of 2013. BIT225 is designed to specifically target HIV in reservoir cells to stop the ongoing cycle of infection in the body.

• Cempra Inc., of Chapel Hill, N.C., said it started a Phase II trial of CEM-102, a loading dose formulation of fusidic acid, in patients with prosthetic joint infections. The open-label study will enroll 50 patients randomized to either oral CEM-102 plus rifampin or current standard of care, which is intravenous antibiotic therapy with vancomycin, nafcillin or cefazolin. The primary outcome measure is demonstration of infection-free status at 12 weeks following the start of therapy. Long-term monitoring for infection relapse or recurrence will continue for two years.