REDWOOD CITY, Calif., April 11, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- AcelRx Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (Nasdaq: ACRX), a specialty pharmaceutical company focused on the development and commercialization of innovative therapies for use in medically supervised settings, today reported the publication of a report commissioned by AcelRx analyzing the economic burden associated with administration of intravenous (IV) morphine for acute pain in the emergency department (ED) in the peer-reviewed journal Drugs in Context. This manuscript reports on the results of a micro-costing analysis to estimate the burden of IV administration of morphine in five key European countries based on a literature review. The study estimated the total cost to administer IV morphine ranged from €121 to €132 depending upon the country, when including the cost of IV related complications, such as infection or phlebitis. Conclusions of the study highlighted that the costs associated with IV administration for moderate-to-severe acute pain relief in the ED inflict an economic burden on national health services; these costs could potentially be avoided with an equally rapid and efficacious analgesic not requiring IV administration.

"The use of IV morphine for the treatment of acute pain in the emergency department poses a significant economic burden on health systems," said Montserrat Casamayor, MD, PhD, senior medical writer for QuintilesIMS and lead author on the study. "A non-invasive and efficacious analgesic that circumvents the potential for IV-related complications could reduce the financial strain on hospitals and health centers."

Details on the publications:Casamayor M, DiDonato K, Hennebert M, Brazzi L, Prosen G. Administration of intravenous morphine for acute pain in the emergency department inflicts an economic burden in Europe. Drugs in Context. 2018 April.

About the Journal:Drugs in Context is an open access, peer-reviewed, continuous publication of international standing. It is a member of the Directory of Open Access Journals (https://doaj.org/). It is listed on PubMed and all articles are free-to-view/download immediately on PubMed Central. It publishes high-quality, peer-reviewed original research papers and topical review articles covering the latest evidence and innovations in drug treatment across all therapeutic areas. In addition, it single-blinds external peer review on all manuscripts with comments from at least two peer reviewers.

About AcelRx Pharmaceuticals, Inc. AcelRx Pharmaceuticals, Inc. is a specialty pharmaceutical company focused on the development and commercialization of innovative therapies for use in medically supervised settings. AcelRx's proprietary, non-invasive sublingual formulation technology delivers sufentanil with consistent pharmacokinetic profiles. The company has two product candidates including DSUVIA™ (sufentanil sublingual tablet, 30 mcg), known as DZUVEO outside the United States, with a proposed indication for the treatment of moderate-to-severe acute pain in medically supervised settings, and Zalviso® (sufentanil sublingual tablet system, SST system, 15 mcg) being developed as an innovatively designed, patient-controlled analgesia (PCA) system for reduction of moderate-to-severe acute pain in medically supervised settings.

For additional information about AcelRx's clinical programs, please visit www.acelrx.com.

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SOURCE AcelRx Pharmaceuticals, Inc.