The FDA has updated the indication of naloxegol (Movantik, AstraZeneca) tablets for the treatment of opioid-induced constipation (OIC) in adult patients with chronic noncancer pain to include patients with chronic pain related to prior cancer or its treatment who do not require frequent (e.g., weekly) opioid dosage escalation.
This label update follows initial FDA approval for naloxegol in 2014 as the first once-daily oral peripherally acting mu-opioid receptor antagonist medication for the treatment of OIC in adults with chronic noncancer pain.
The label update clarifies that adult patients with chronic pain related to prior cancer or its treatment who do not require frequent opioid dosage escalation are included within the previously approved indication of naloxegol for the treatment of OIC in adults with chronic noncancer pain.
Opioids block pain signals by binding to mu receptors in the central nervous system. But opioids also bind to mu receptors in the bowel, which can lead to constipation.
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