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Opioid drugmaker Purdue Pharma inks deal with Alivio over non-opioid inflammation drug

pharmafile | January 29, 2019 | News story | Manufacturing and Production Alivio, Purdue Pharma, health, inflammation, opioids 

Opioid drugmaker Purdue Pharma has entered into an agreement with inflammatory disease specialist Alivio Therapeutics for the development of the non-opioid treatment for interstitial cystitis/bladder pain syndrome, ALV-107.

Alivio will receive $14.75 million upfront and will be eligible to receive more than $260 million in royalties if developmental milestones are met.

The deal has come amidst a flurry of lawsuits attacking Purdue over its alleged role in the opioid crisis. The agreement may signal a move away from the troublesome business of opioid pain management.

“This collaboration with Alivio is an important milestone in our continued pursuit of non-opioid treatments for pain and represents yet another step to further diversify our portfolio,” said Dr Craig Landau President and CEO of Purdue Pharma LP. “We are impressed with Alivio’s innovative platform technology as we focus on addressing patient needs – especially in areas where there are few efficacious treatment options.”

Alivio’s inflammation targeting technology is designed to enable small molecules, biologics and nucleic acids exclusivity at sites of inflammation in the tissue, while sparing healthy tissue.

Although Purdue have stopped promoting OxyContin, a drug which is notorious for its role in the opioid epidemic, the opioid drug brought in $1.8 billion in sales in 2017.

As such, the Alivio deal could be seen as a genuine attempt to diversify the opioid drugmaker’s portfolio. However the extent to which Purdue will move away from opioids is still yet to be seen.

Louis Goss

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