Wyeth drug to help terminally ill patients with bowel dysfunction

Wyeth has announced the results of a “pivotal” trial involving its investigational compound, methylnaltrexone.

One side-effect of opioid-based pain killers like morphine is that while terminally ill patients experience vastly reduced amounts of pain, they can suffer opioid-induced bowel dysfunction which can cause constipation. Wyeth estimates that 50 per cent of all patients in palliative care experience opioid-induced bowel dysfunction.

The company trialled the drug in 133 terminally-ill patients suffering from constipation due to the use of opioids, despite taking laxatives and stool-softeners. It found that 48.4 per cent of patients experienced bowel movements within four hours of first receiving their first dose of methylnaltrexone – three times the rate of the placebo.

Neil Slatkin, study investigator and director of the department of pain and palliative medicine at the City of Hope hospital in Duarte, California, said: “In order to provide the most compassionate care possible, health care professionals want to focus on aggressive pain management without the worry of opioid-induced bowel dysfunction.”

“These data are encouraging for patients living with advanced illnesses who must take opioids to control their pain,” he concluded.

The production and development of the drug is part of a collaboration between Wyeth and Progenics. Wyeth will develop the oral form of the drug worldwide, while Progenics will develop the injected and intravenous form in the US.

Earlier this month, GlaxoSmithKline announced that it had conducted trials using alvimopan for the treatment of opioid-induced bowel dysfunction. Dr Lynn Webster of the Lifetree Clinical Research and Pain Clinic in Salt Lake City, said: “The findings from this study suggest that alvimopan may play an important role in treating these GI side effects in patients by blocking the effects opioids have on the gut without adversely impacting the effect on pain control.”

© Adfero Ltd