CED Member BioDelivery Sciences International, Inc. (Nasdaq: BDSI) announced a positive outcome of the Company's pivotal pharmacokinetic study for BEMA Buprenorphine/Naloxone (BNX), which is being developed for the potential treatment of opioid dependence and utilizes the patented BioErodible MucoAdhesive (BEMA) technology to deliver buprenorphine combined with the opioid antagonist naloxone. Based on the positive outcome of this study, BDSI continues to anticipate that it will be in a position to submit a New Drug Application (NDA) to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for BNX during the second quarter of 2013.
The study, BNX-103, was designed to compare the relative bioavailability of buprenorphine and naloxone between BNX and the reference product, Suboxone, which is currently approved for the maintenance treatment of opioid dependence. Based on the FDA agreed upon 505(b)(2) pharmacokinetic regulatory pathway for the BNX program, the goals of the study were to demonstrate that two key pharmacokinetic parameters, maximum drug plasma concentration (Cmax) and total drug exposure (area under the curve or AUC), for buprenorphine were comparable to Suboxone, and that the same parameters for naloxone were similar or less than Suboxone. These goals were achieved in the study.
"We are pleased with the outcome of this study and believe, based on our prior discussions with FDA, that the data supports a key component for our NDA," said Dr. Andrew Finn, Executive Vice President of Product Development. "The positive results of this study once again demonstrate the value and versatility of our BEMA drug delivery technology and its ability to effectively and efficiently deliver drugs to treat important medical conditions."
"The results of this study allow us to not only move a step closer to the potential filing of an NDA for BNX in 2013, but also advance our commercialization considerations that include furthering our active partnership discussions for BNX," said Dr. Mark A. Sirgo, President and Chief Executive Officer. "In the upcoming months, we will continue to evaluate our strategic options for the commercialization of BNX within and outside the U.S., including internal approaches, partnership or a combination of these. BNX is a significant asset to BDSI, and we believe, if approved, provides a relatively near-term opportunity to enter and capture a meaningful share of the over $1.2 billion and growing market for buprenorphine/naloxone by being the first film to compete directly against Suboxone."
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