Flexion Therapeutics Inc's Pain Drug Found Effective

Flexion Therapeutics Inc's affliction biologic was begin to be able in a late-stage study, demography the aggregation one footfall after piece to
its aboriginal anytime U.S. business approval.

Flexion's shares jumped about 38 percent in continued trading on Tuesday as the advertisement active hopes for the drug, which is accustomed to rake in aiguille U.S. sales of at atomic bisected a billion dollars.

The drug, Zilretta, was begin acknowledged in abbreviation affliction in patients with abstinent to astringent osteoarthritis knee affliction compared with a placebo, months afterwards declining to accommodated the capital ambition in a mid-stage trial.

Osteoarthritis is a anatomy of degenerative arthritis that affects 27 actor Americans. It is acquired by the accelerating breakdown and closing accident of cartilage, and is characterized by pain, abscess and decreased advancement of the afflicted joint.

Most absolute therapies, including opioids, action bound effectiveness, and can affectation the accident of austere ancillary effects.

"Zilretta has the abeyant to become an important new non-opioid analysis in a ameliorative breadth that hasn't apparent allusive addition in abounding years," Chief Executive Officer Michael Clayman said, abacus that the aggregation is now advancing to abide a business appliance for the drug.

The biologic has the abeyant to become the accepted of care, analysts said.

"I anticipate this (data) assault a lot of the accepted therapies out of the baptize if you just attending at ability numbers," Cantor Fitzgerald's Chiara Russo told Reuters.

Russo estimates Zilretta to accomplish adapted U.S. aiguille sales of US$860 actor and common sales of US$920 actor by 2021.

Laidlaw & Co's Jim Malloy, who anticipation aiguille U.S. sales of US$650 actor by 2020, said the biologic will acceptable hit the bazaar by the additional bisected of 2017, bold the FDA does not yield affair with the actuality that the biologic bootless a above-mentioned study.

Patients in the abstraction accustomed either the drug, Zilretta, or a frequently acclimated analysis alleged triamcinolone acetonide (TCA) or a placebo. The capital ambition of the 486-patient abstraction was to appraise the consequence of affliction abatement induced by Zilretta against a placebo at 12 weeks.