Singapore- The FDA accepts for review Nektar Therapeutics' marketing application seeking approval for NKTR-181 for the treatment of chronic low back pain in adult patients new to opioid therapy.

The company says NKTR-181, a long-acting (14-hour elimination half-life) mu-opioid receptor agonist, is the first analgesic opioid to show a low incidence of specific CNS-mediated side effects, such as euphoria, because it is designed to have low permeability across the blood-brain barrier. Its slow rate of entry into the brain minimizes the release of dopamine which produces the feeling of euphoria.