Israeli pharmaceutical company PainReform has won approval to continue developing a pain relief drug that does not use potentially addictive opioids . The US Food and Drug Administration said the firm could carry out late - stage clinical studies for PRF-110 , which prolongs the effectiveness of the post - operation painkiller ropivacaine . Earlier studies suggested it could relieve pain for up to 24 hours after surgery , 10 times longer than current medications . PainReform said the market for such treatment was worth $ 1 . Opioids were involved in 42,000 deaths in the US in 2016 and 40 % of opioid overdose deaths involved current makes of the drugs .
Israeli pharmaceutical company PainReform has won approval to continue developing a pain relief drug that does not use potentially addictive opioids. The US Food and Drug Administration said the firm could carry out late-stage clinical studies for PRF-110, which prolongs the effectiveness of the post-operation painkiller ropivacaine. Earlier studies suggested it could relieve pain for up to 72 hours after surgery, 10 times longer than current medications. PainReform said the market for such treatment was worth $5bn. Opioids were involved in 42,000 deaths in the US in 2016 and 40% of opioid overdose deaths involved current makes of prescription drugs.