Swedish company, Orexo AB, announced on Monday (September 18), that it had submitted a New Drug Application (NDA) for a high-dose rescue medication for opioid overdose with nasal delivery called OX124 based on the company’s drug delivery platform, amorphOX.
The company supported its submission with data from the pivotal study in healthy volunteers, OX124-002, where OX124 showed a significantly faster and higher absorption of naloxone compared to intramuscular dosing with an injection reference product.
In addition, Orexo’s development formulations of OX124 have in a previous exploratory clinical study (OX124-001) in healthy volunteers, demonstrated a more rapid absorption and higher bioavailability compared with the market leading naloxone rescue medication, even with the same dose as the comparator. OX124 is protected by patents until 2039.
If approved OX124 will meet the significant and growing need of more powerful rescue medications improving the possibility to revive individuals who have got an overdose caused by use of synthetic opioids, such as fentanyl.
Nikolaj Sørensen, president and CEO of Orexo AB, said, “Thanks to an excellent team effort, our supply chain for OX124 now meets the highest reliability standards, and we can timely submit a new NDA to the FDA.
“With the submission of OX124 we are making good progress in expanding our commercial product portfolio in the US and this high-dose life-saving medication has the potential to curb the huge upturn in lethal overdoses seen over the past years and which is grounded in the wide spread of fentanyl. Me and my team look forward to giving broad access to this important and differentiated medication.”
During the latest 12-month period, ending April 2023, the Center of Disease Control and Prevention predicted annual number of fatal overdoses in the US counted for more than 110.000.[2] The great majority, 76 percent, refers to opioid overdoses, and of these 91 per cent involved synthetic opioids.
The technical issues with the packaging process, which earlier this year gave rise to FDA's request for filing a new NDA, have now been solved in partnership with the contract manufacturer. To ensure the manufacturing process meets the highest reliability requirements, tests, and qualifications have successfully been conducted at the contract manufacturers site.
FDA's review process is expected to take ten to thirteen months. Orexo is planning to initiate the US launch late in H2 2024 or early 2025.
