New study setting the stage for non-opioid analgesic in post-surgical pain management

July 5, 2023 (Toronto, ON) — Patients are often prescribed opioids after undergoing surgical care to help them manage their post-surgical pain. This intervention often leads to dependency and creates additional burdens on the healthcare system.

AmacaThera, a clinical-stage biotechnology company transforming therapeutics, is developing AMT-143, a long-acting formulation of a non-opioid analgesic designed to be placed directly at the surgical site. Upon injection, the compound would sustain drug release for two to three days, ideally to help patients through the most severe pain window following a surgery. If successful, this approach to pain management would alleviate the need for opioids in the patient’s pain management journey. New opioid sparing products for post-surgical pain management must demonstrate a positive impact on current patient care and the healthcare system.

AmacaThera is pleased to announce a new collaboration with the University Health Network (UHN) to evaluate the health economic impact of opioid use in post-surgical pain management. Funded by OBIO^® through its Early Adopter Health Network (EAHN™), the evaluation aims to quantify the economic impact of opioid use on health systems using indicators such as length of hospital stay, overall health care system cost, and self-reported pain levels by patients within the current standard of post-surgical pain management.

“Many patients we see are already experiencing chronic pain prior to surgery and may already have an active opioid prescription; after surgery, their dosage stands to be even higher. We want to come in to give them novel options for managing that pain,” says Dr. Hance Clarke, Medical Director of The Pain Research Unit at Toronto General Hospital, University Health Network. Dr. Clarke is also the President-Elect of the Canadian Pain Society and Co-Chair Knowledge Translation, University of Toronto Centre for the Study of Pain. “Chronic post-surgical pain and persistent post-surgical opioid use is a significant burden to today’s health care system, and patients need innovative options to improve their post operative pain trajectories, improve their mobility, and reduce the reliance on opioid analgesic medications,” he added.

“UHN is the largest health research hospital in Canada with a world-class department of anesthesia and pain management,” said Mike Cooke, CEO of AmacaThera. “They are exactly the right partner to access rich data on the current pain management experience for most patients. With that knowledge, we can then use data to illustrate the current patient experience in an opioid context and show how our product may provide improvement.”

This partnership presents a unique opportunity to identify important areas where non-opioid pain management products like AMT-143 may improve pain management practices, with the overall aim of providing alternatives to opioids for post-surgical patients.

“The three days following a surgery are the most difficult for patients. To date, opioids have presented the strongest source of relief, despite their known downstream risks for the patient and the healthcare system,” said Molly Shoichet, AmacaThera’s CSO and Professor at the University of Toronto. “AMT-143 is designed as a non-opioid alternative. Results from this retrospective study will help us to establish a baseline from which we can evaluate AMT-143 in a Phase II clinical trial.”

“OBIO^® supports companies driving innovations in key areas, including therapeutics, that can transform healthcare practice,” said Dr. Maura Campbell, OBIO^® President and CEO. “This is a first for the EAHN™ program, a therapeutics cost-benefit evaluation project that will help AmacaThera set data-driven benchmarks for future clinical evaluations of new opioid-sparing products currently in development. We are delighted that AmacaThera is forging a path towards commercialization of therapeutics through the EAHN™ program”.

About OBIO^®

OBIO^®, a not-for-profit, membership-based organization dedicated to advancing health technology innovation and commercialization, is prioritizing the evaluation of new technologies through their Early Adopter Health Network (EAHN™) to provide solutions. OBIO^® is engaged in strategy, programming, policy development and advocacy to further the commercialization of human health technologies, positioning Canada as a leader in the international marketplace. For more information, visit OBIO.ca.

About AmacaThera

AmacaThera Inc, is a clinical-stage biotechnology company transforming therapeutics to make a difference in patient health. AmacaGel™, our unique, injectable hydrogel platform provides localized sustained drug delivery for improved patient outcomes across multiple therapeutic areas, including post-surgical pain management, cancer and other hard-to-reach unmet medical needs. For more information, visit: www.amacathera.ca.

About UHN

University Health Network consists of Toronto General and Toronto Western Hospitals, the Princess Margaret Cancer Centre, Toronto Rehabilitation Institute, and The Michener Institute of Education at UHN. The scope of research and complexity of cases at University Health Network has made it a national and international source for discovery, education and patient care. It has the largest hospital-based research program in Canada, with major research in cardiology, transplantation, neurosciences, oncology, surgical innovation, arthritis, vision, infectious diseases, genomic medicine and rehabilitation medicine. University Health Network is a research hospital affiliated with the University of Toronto. For more information, visit: www.uhn.ca.

Media Contacts:

Bibaswan Ghoshal
Director, Market Acceleration
OBIO^®

Mike Foorer
VP Business Development & General Manager
AmacaThera

Ania Jones
Sr. Manager, Communications & Partnership Engagement
Commercialization at UHN