Buprenorphine For Transdermal Analgesia

We will demonstrate the practical feasibility of transdermal analgesic therapy based onbuprenorphine, a potent opioid already used intravenously and intramuscularly for the relief of moderateto severe pain. Preliminary in vitro experiments have confirmed that buprenorphine can pass throughhuman skin at potentially therapeutic rates. Using BIOTEK's patented DermaPatch transdermal systemit should be possible to develop small analgesic patches based on buprenorphine, one of the most benignof the opioid analgesics. Phase I will prepare candidate formulations, optimize their in vitroperformance using stratum corneum from human breast skin, and test blood levels and skin irritation ofpatches containing the best formulation on rabbits. Successful completion of Phase I will lead to a PhaseII devoted to the documentary, clinical, regulatory and licensing steps required for successfulcommercialization of a new transdermal product.