Benzinga | Nov 20, 2020 07:04AM EST

Baudax Bio Announces Publication of ANJESO Network Meta-Analysis in the Peer-Reviewed Journal BMC Anesthesiology

Baudax Bio, Inc. (NASDAQ:BXRX), a pharmaceutical company focused on therapeutics for acute care settings, today announced the online publication of a Network Meta-Analysis (NMA) for ANJESO (meloxicam) injection in the peer-reviewed medical journal BMC Anesthesiology. ANJESO was recently launched in the U.S. and is indicated for the management of moderate to severe pain, alone or in combination with other non-NSAID analgesics.

"The management of post-operative pain remains a significant issue, including providing adequate pain control beyond immediate postsurgical recovery," said Jonathan Jahr, M.D., Professor Emeritus, Anesthesiology, University of California, Los Angeles School of Medicine. "Based on the results of multiple clinical trials, ANJESO (meloxicam) injection has been found to provide relief of moderate to severe acute pain, alone or in combination with other analgesics within the first 15 minutes after dosing and up to 24 hours after dosing compared to placebo. Specifically, ANJESO (meloxicam) injection provided superior pain relief for abdominoplasty, bunionectomy and hysterectomy when compared with acetaminophen, ibuprofen, and ketorolac, while also demonstrating a compelling profile with respect to reducing morphine consumption. Notably, ANJESO (meloxicam) injection was significantly more effective at reducing pain intensity than all comparators for those procedures in which pain intensity scores were recorded."

"We believe that ANJESO offers an effective, non-opioid therapeutic option for the management of postsurgical pain for eligible patients," said Stewart McCallum, M.D., F.A.C.S., Chief Medical Officer of Baudax Bio. "As the only intravenous IV NSAID that lasts up to 24 hours, ANJESO has an equal or better safety profile than that of other IV non-opioids, and benefits patients by reducing their opioid consumption post-surgery. The results of this meta-analysis add to the growing body of data supporting our ongoing ANJESO commercial launch efforts."

ANJESO Network Meta-Analysis Results

The published NMA results are based on the screening of over 2,300 studies, whereby 27 studies were identified and included in the analysis. Randomized clinical trials from 2000 to 2019 which involved at least one of the following procedures: open abdominal surgery, bunionectomy, open hysterectomy, orthopedic joint replacement surgery (including knee, ankle, hip, shoulder) were evaluated for inclusion. The literature search included publications that reported clinical effectiveness, safety and tolerability in adult patients receiving post-operative pain treatments. For this NMA, ANJESO was indirectly compared with only those IV treatments that were available at the time in the U.S., including acetaminophen, ibuprofen, and ketorolac. Studies for other non-opioid analgesics such as parecoxib and diclofenac were used for indirect comparison with the placebo arms in those studies.

The NMA found that among patients reporting moderate to severe postoperative pain, ANJESO was superior in pain reduction for abdominoplasty, bunionectomy and hysterectomy when compared with acetaminophen, ibuprofen, and ketorolac. In reducing morphine consumption, ANJESO was associated with significantly less morphine milligram equivalents (MME) utilization versus all comparators for abdominal procedures, hysterectomy, and versus acetaminophen in orthopedic procedures. Elsewhere MME utilization outcomes for ANJESO were largely equivalent or nominally better than other comparators.

The odds of opioid-related adverse events (ORADEs) were significantly higher for all comparators compared to ANJESO for orthopedic (gastrointestinal) and hysterectomy (respiratory). These results suggest ANJESO may provide better pain relief with a similar or better reduction in ORADEs compared to other approved IV NSAIDS.

About ANJESO(r)

ANJESO (meloxicam) injection is a proprietary, long-acting, preferential COX-2 inhibitor that possesses analgesic, anti-inflammatory and antipyretic activities, which are believed to be related to the inhibition of cyclooxygenase type 2 pathway (COX-2) and subsequent reduction in prostaglandin biosynthesis. ANJESO was launched in the U.S. in June 2020 following its approval by the Food and Drug Administration in February 2020. ANJESO is indicated for the management of moderate to severe pain, alone or in combination with other non-NSAID analgesics. Because of the delayed onset of analgesia, ANJESO alone is not recommended for use when rapid onset of analgesia is required. ANJESO is supported by two pivotal Phase III clinical efficacy trials, a large double-blind, placebo-controlled Phase III safety trial and four Phase II clinical efficacy trials, as well as other safety studies. As a non-opioid, Baudax Bio believes ANJESO has the potential to overcome many of the issues associated with commonly prescribed opioid therapeutics, including respiratory depression, constipation, excessive nausea and vomiting, as well as having no addictive potential, while maintaining meaningful analgesic effects for relief of pain. ANJESO was designed using the NanoCrystal(r) platform, a technology that enables enhanced bioavailability of poorly water-soluble drug compounds. NanoCrystal(r) is a registered trademark of Alkermes Pharma Ireland Limited (APIL).