• Astrazeneca plc, of London, reported positive results of a Phase III long-term safety and tolerability study of the once-daily 25-mg dose of naloxegol in patients with non-cancer pain and opioid-induced constipation (OIC). Naloxegol is an investigational peripherally acting mu-opioid receptor antagonist, which has been studied in OIC in adult patients with chronic non-cancer pain. Data were presented at the American College of Gastroenterology 2013 Annual Scientific Meeting in San Diego. The Phase III study (KODIAC-08), a 52-week, long-term safety trial of naloxegol (n = 534) vs. usual care (n = 270) in patients with non-cancer related pain and OIC, reinforced the safety and tolerability findings from previous Phase III studies, KODIAC-04 and -05. Pain scores and opioid doses were comparable between treatment groups and were stable throughout the study, (See BioWorld Today, May 22, 2013.)

• Lurasidone, an atypical antipsychotic developed by Dainippon Sumitomo Pharma Co. Ltd., of Osaka, Japan, and marketed by its subsidiary Sunovion Pharmaceuticals Inc., of Marlborough, Mass., was the subject of five poster presentations at the 26th European College of Neuropsychopharmacology Congress in Barcelona, Spain. The data showed short- and long-term efficacy of lurasidone in schizophrenia, with early separation from placebo, a rapid onset of action, and a favorable side effect profile. As well, a post-hoc analysis of double-blind studies showed improvement of insight for clinically unstable patients receiving once-daily lurasidone in combination with quetiapine compared to placebo after six weeks.