Two centuries after pharmacists first isolated morphine from opium, a King of Prussia pharmaceutical company is on the brink of offering a non-addictive alternative for those desperately looking for some relief from pain, writes Vicky Hallett for The Washington Post.

Trevena’s oliceridine was developed using neuroscience research that was pioneered by Laura Bohn, a Scripps Research Institute professor who studies opioid receptor signaling.

The drug recently underwent a trial involving 330 bunionectomy patients. Bunion surgery was the ideal candidate for the trial as it is a relatively simple procedure but hurts enormously.

After surgery, each of the patients was given four milligrams of either morphine, oliceridine, or a placebo.

The placebo group reported feeling no relief for hours, the morphine group indicated improvement in around 30 minutes, while the oliceridine group reported results in about two minutes.

In an abstract that was presented by Trevena in October during the annual meeting of the American Society of Anesthesiologists, the company’s medical research team noted that the drug could offer “rapid, effective analgesia with improved safety and tolerability.”

Oliceridine is currently in Phase III clinical trials and is expected to hit the market within a few years.

Read more about the new drug’s potential at The Washington Post by clicking here.

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