* Meets one of two main goals
* Says no safety issues
June 16 (Reuters) - Durect Corp said its experimental pain drug, Posidur, met one of the two main goals of a mid-stage trial in Europe.
Durect is co-developing Posidur with Swiss drug firm Nycomed to treat post-operative pain.
Posidur met the first primary endpoint of showing non-inferiority to a combination of another pain drug, Saber, and a dummy drug.
On the second primary efficacy endpoint, no statistically significant difference was shown in opioid use between the Posidur and Saber-placebo groups, the company said.
Durect said there were no indications of systemic safety issues.
Posidur, a long-acting version of the anesthetic bupivacaine, is currently in late-stage studies in the United States to treat post-operative pain.
'We are currently enrolling in BESST, our U.S. pivotal Phase III study and Nycomed continues to enroll in a Phase IIb study in Europe in shoulder surgery,' Durect said.
Shares of the company closed at $2.82 Wednesday on Nasdaq.
(Reporting by Anand Basu in Bangalore; Editing by Vinu Pilakkott) Keywords: DURECT/ (anand.basu@thomsonreuters.com; within U.S. +1 646 223 8780; outside U.S. +91 80 4135 5800; Reuters Messaging:anand.basu.reuters.com@reuters.net) COPYRIGHT Copyright Thomson Reuters 2010. All rights reserved. The copying, republication or redistribution of Reuters News Content, including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Thomson Reuters.
* Says no safety issues
June 16 (Reuters) - Durect Corp said its experimental pain drug, Posidur, met one of the two main goals of a mid-stage trial in Europe.
Durect is co-developing Posidur with Swiss drug firm Nycomed to treat post-operative pain.
Posidur met the first primary endpoint of showing non-inferiority to a combination of another pain drug, Saber, and a dummy drug.
On the second primary efficacy endpoint, no statistically significant difference was shown in opioid use between the Posidur and Saber-placebo groups, the company said.
Durect said there were no indications of systemic safety issues.
Posidur, a long-acting version of the anesthetic bupivacaine, is currently in late-stage studies in the United States to treat post-operative pain.
'We are currently enrolling in BESST, our U.S. pivotal Phase III study and Nycomed continues to enroll in a Phase IIb study in Europe in shoulder surgery,' Durect said.
Shares of the company closed at $2.82 Wednesday on Nasdaq.
(Reporting by Anand Basu in Bangalore; Editing by Vinu Pilakkott) Keywords: DURECT/ (anand.basu@thomsonreuters.com; within U.S. +1 646 223 8780; outside U.S. +91 80 4135 5800; Reuters Messaging:anand.basu.reuters.com@reuters.net) COPYRIGHT Copyright Thomson Reuters 2010. All rights reserved. The copying, republication or redistribution of Reuters News Content, including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Thomson Reuters.