Product Concept

While combination analgesic products such as an NSAID plus an opioid (eg, Vicodin® or Percocet®) are widely used, at present there are no combination opioid products commercially available anywhere in the world. Dual Opioid® technology refers to the use of two opioids that bind to different opioid receptor subtypes, thus providing improved tolerability and better pain relief.

The specific Dual Opioid analgesics selected by QRx for development and commercialisation are morphine sulfate and oxycodone hydrochloride. These opioids were selected because they showed marked analgesic synergy in animal studies of acute and chronic pain and because they have a long history of clinical use as individual agents. The lead product is an immediate release formulation, MoxDuo® IR, currently in Phase 3 trials. It is a fixed ratio combination of morphine sulfate and oxycodone HCl and is available in capsule strengths of 3mg/2mg, 6mg/4mg and 12mg/8mg. Under development are controlled release (MoxDuo® CR) formulations that provide for 12 hrs release and an injectible formulation for IV use (MoxDuo® IV).