Non-opioid analgesics

The USA continues to wrestle with the legacy of an epidemic of opioid abuse, believed to have cost the lives of over half a million people through overdose.

Until the pandemic struck, it looked as though the tide had turned, thanks to remedial actions on the part of drugmakers - prompted no doubt by a raft of lawsuits - as well as changes to prescribing practices.

Now, opioid abuse is on the rise again, leading a broad swathe of society, from patients and drugmakers to lawmakers and regulators, to consider the best course of action.

For several years, the US Food and Drug Administration has committed to a number of measures designed to encourage the development of non-addictive analgesic alternatives.

These changes have created a positive regulatory framework for stem cell specialist Mesoblast (ASX: MSB), a Melbourne-based biotech developing an off-the-shelf cell therapy targeting chronic low back pain (CLBP) - an indication which absorbs half of US opioid prescriptions at present.

In Episode 2 of The Pharma Letter Podcast, we discuss this option, as well as the broader therapeutic landscape, with the company's chief executive, Silviu Itescu.