Decision Resources report: Nucynta as effective as immediate-release oxycodone

WALTHAM, Mass. Most surveyed physicians who have prescribed a dual-acting opioid painkiller made by Johnson & Johnson consider it to have comparable efficacy to oxycodone, according to a report released Monday by market research firm Decision Resources.

The report, titled “Biologics and Formulations for Inflammatory and Nociceptive Pain: Will These Agents Gain Widespread Physician and Payer Acceptance Despite a Crowded Market?” found that 82% of the physicians found J&J subsidiary Ortho-McNeil’s Nucynta (tapentadol) as effective as immediate-release oxycodone, while 36% said it was more tolerable in terms of such side effects common among opioids as nausea and vomiting.

“Our survey results indicate that chronic low back pain and osteoarthritis pain patients would be in the populations most likely to be treated with tanezumab,” Decision Resources analyst Natalie Taylor said. “However, 46% of surveyed pain specialists, 23% of surveyed rheumatologists and 70% of surveyed [primary-care physicians] said that they do not expect to prescribe a biologic if it launches.”