Development Of Next Generation Sustained Release Solutions For Pain Management

In Part 1 of this article series, we discussed the challenges that exist in current pain management options for the patient population affected by knee osteoarthritis (OA).

With the FDA approval of Zilretta^® in 2017, patients suffering from pain associated with osteoarthritis were presented with a completely new therapeutic option. Marketed as a single extended relief intra-articulate injection, Zilretta^® presents the possibility of up to 3-months of relief from OA pain from a sustained release formulation of Triamcinolone Acetonide (TAA) formulated with polyester (polylactic-co-glycolic acid, PLGA) material. Upon FDA approval, Zilretta^® became the first and so far only long-acting injectable treatment option for pain associated with OA.

As patient acceptance and adoption of extended-release products like Zilretta^® increases, there is an opportunity for development of next generation product solutions. This will require novel polymeric materials that are capable of addressing shortcomings of legacy polyester platforms and can potentially enable extended pain relief for the patient.

In exploring potential next generation pain management solutions, DSM Biomedical developed a TheraPEA™ polymer based injectable formulation designed to deliver the same dose of TAA as in Zilretta^®. The microparticle formulation has shown promising results in a series of pre-clinical studies.