Pfizer announces Embeda post-market trial results

NEW YORK — A Pfizer painkiller appears to produce a much less positive experience for recreational drug users when crushed than when administered whole, according to results of a post-market clinical study program.

The drug maker announced results of three phase-4 trials of Embeda (morphine sulfate and naltrexone hydrochloride) designed to assess its affects when crushed and taken orally or inhaled through the nose. Two of the studies tested Embeda on recreational drug users, while the third study tested it on patients with chronic pain, though that study had to be canceled due to Pfizer's voluntary recall of Embeda in March 2011 due to a chemical stability issue.

In the studies among recreational users, however, the company said Embeda produced lower scores of "drug liking," "high," "good effects," "overall drug liking" and "take the drug again."

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