Benzinga | May 13, 2021 10:18AM EDT

AcelRx's Dsuvia Shows Reduction In Postoperative Opioids Compared To Control Group

* AcelRx Pharmaceuticals Inc (NASDAQ: ACRX) has announced a poster presentation at the Annual Regional Anesthesiology and Acute Pain Medicine Meeting reviewing the results of a study on the intraoperative administration of Dsuvia (sufentanil sublingual tablet, SST) 30 mcg for the management of acute pain in an ambulatory surgery center.

* The primary objective of this study was to determine if SST 30 mcg given before emergence from anesthesia was efficacious in reducing initial post-anesthesia care unit pain scores compared to a control group.

* Secondary outcomes included opioid use and percentage of patients opioid-free, and time until ready to discharge.

* Data showed that patients in the SST group required 50% fewer opioids, with significantly more of them opioid-free (36% vs. 8%). Furthermore, SST-treated patients had improved overall benefit of analgesia scores compared to the control group.

* Limitations of the study include that the SST was not compared to an active comparator as it did not allow for preemptive opioid analgesia in the control group.

* Also, as the data collection ended at discharge, the authors could not assess any additional analgesic benefit of SST beyond the immediate postoperative period.

* Price Action: ACRX shares trading 0.93% higher at $1.08 on the last check Thursday.