New Palexia® study confirms effective pain relief in long-term use / Chronic pain patients benefit from long-term tapentadol treatment

Aachen (ots) -

- EMBARGO: This information is for healthcare professionals only.
Not intended for UK audience.
-

A recent study published in the medical journal "Current Medical
Research and Opinion"* has results that are good news for chronic
pain patients.

This new trial was designed to meet real-life conditions in the
treatment of severe chronic pain and included also a group with 588
chronic pain patients that were treated over 12 month. By using
tapentadol prolonged release (PR) (Palexia®), more than half of these
patients experienced a major reduction of pain intensity (by at least
50%). The proportion of patients with pain-free intervals rose from
about 8 to 24% and the number of patients with uninterrupted sleep
rose from approximately 9 to 35%.

At end of the observation, about 89% of patients had reached or
exceeded their individual treatment target. The author, a pain
specialist, concluded that tapentadol therapy provides stable pain
relief for at least one year. The high efficiency and good
tolerability confirm that tapentadol PR is a valuable alternative to
classical strong opioids for the long-term management of chronic
pain.

You can access the publication for free at
http://informahealthcare.com/doi/full/10.1185/03007995.2014.939166

*Strick et al. 2014 Current Medical Research & Opinion posted
online on July 15, 2014. (doi:10.1185/03007995.2014.939166)

About Grünenthal

The Grünenthal Group is an independent, family-owned,
international research-based pharmaceutical company headquartered in
Aachen, Germany. Building on its unique position in pain treatment,
its objective is to become the most patient-centric company in the
field of pain and thus to be a leader in therapy innovation.

Grünenthal is one of the last five remaining research-oriented
pharmaceutical companies with headquarters in Germany which
sustainably invests in research and development. Research and
development costs amounted to about 27 percent of revenues in 2013.
Grünenthal's research and development strategy concentrates on
selected fields of therapy and state-of-the-art technologies. We are
intensely focused on discovering new ways to treat pain better and
more effectively, with fewer side-effects than current therapies.

Altogether, the Grünenthal Group has affiliates in 25 countries
worldwide. Grünenthal products are sold in more than 155 countries
and approx. 5,500 employees are working for the Grünenthal Group
worldwide. In 2013, Grünenthal achieved revenues of E901 mn.

More information: www.grunenthal.com

Contact:
Jeanette Hübsch, Head of Brand Communication Palexia,
Grünenthal Europe & Australia,
Phone: +49 241-569-1487, email: jeanette.huebsch@grunenthal.com