Orexo AB (publ.) announced the submission of a New Drug Application (NDA) to the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for its lead pharmaceutical pipeline asset, OX124, a nasal rescue medication for opioid overdose. OX124, is based on Orexo´s drug delivery platform amorphOX® and contains a high-dose of naloxone. The submission is supported by data from the pivotal study in healthy volunteers, OX124-002, where OX124 showed a significantly faster and higher absorption of naloxone compared to intramuscular dosing with an injection reference product.

In addition, development formulations of OX124 have in a previous exploratory clinical study (OX124-001) in healthy volunteers, demonstrated a more rapid absorption and higher bioavailability compared with the market leading naloxone rescue medication, even with the same dose as the comparator. OX124 is protected by patents until 2039. Opioid overdose is a life-threatening condition, characterized by loss of consciousness and respiratory depression.

Opioid overdoses can be treated with the opioid antagonist naloxone. During the 12-month period ending August 2022, the predicted annual number of fatal opioid overdoses in the US exceeded 81,000. Nine out of ten opioid overdose deaths involved synthetic opioids, including fentanyl.

The switch to highly potent synthetic opioids has led to more severe overdoses, prompting the need for high-dose naloxone products.