Elan公司推出的新型鞘內止痛劑是Conus magus海洋蝸牛體內天然存在的conopeptide合成類似物。這種止痛劑已經獲得了美國食品藥品管理局的許可。

這種止痛劑叫做Prialt，屬于N-型鈣通道阻滯劑的非阿片疼痛緩解劑。研究發現藥物的作用機制是針對并阻斷位于神經纖維上傳遞疼痛信號的N-型鈣通道。Prialt可以長期應用而無需增加劑量。這種止痛劑在三次III期臨床試驗中涉及了1200多例患者，這些臨床試驗評估了藥物對不能被其它藥物或者方法控制的嚴重慢性疼痛患者的藥物效能與安全性。在一項癌癥患者的臨床試驗中，Prialt將疼痛減少了53％。

加利福尼亞州圣地亞哥大學麻醉學教授Mark Wallace醫生指出：“總而言之Prialt臨床試驗結果是無可置疑的其它藥物不能緩解的疼痛患者提供了了治療選擇。而且Prialt不會導致藥物濫用。”

Prialt是愛爾蘭都柏林Elan公司產品，該藥是近二十多年來第一個獲得批準的新型鞘內止痛劑。

Non-opioid Analgesic for Severe Pain
 
A new intrathecal (IT) analgesic is the synthetic equivalent of a naturally occurring conopeptide found in a marine snail known as Conus magus. The analgesic has been cleared by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

Called Prialt (ziconotide intrathecal infusion), the analgesic is in a class of non-opioid pain relievers known as N-type calcium channel blockers. Research suggests that its echanism of action works by targeting and blocking N-type calcium channels on nerves that ordinarily transmit pain signals. Prialt can be used long-term without needing the dosage to be increased. The analgesic was tested in three phase III clinical trials involving more than 1,200 patients, which evaluated its efficacy and safety in patients with severe chronic pain not managed by other drugs or systems. In one trial involving cancer patients, Prialt was shown to improve pain reduction by 53%.

“Taken together, the findings from the Prialt clinical trials are conclusive evidence that this therapy represents a significant treatment option for patients who do not have adequate in relief from other therapies,” noted Mark Wallace, M.D., professor of clinical nesthesiology, University of California San Diego (CA, USA; www.ucsd.edu). “Furthermore, Prialt is not associated with the risk of addiction.”

Prialt is the product of Elan Corp. (Dublin, Ireland), which notes that it is the first new IT analgesic approved in more than two decades.