CUPERTINO, Calif. (AP) — Drug developer Durect Corp. said Thursday it signed a long-term agreement to supply the painkiller Remoxy to King Pharmaceuticals Inc. Terms of the supply deal were undisclosed. King Pharmaceuticals and partner Pain Therapeutics Inc. are developing Remoxy as an abuse-resistant painkiller using Durect’s “abuse-resistant” technology. Remoxy tablets include the drug in a thick liquid form, which the drug developers say makes it “abuse resistant” because abusers can’t get a high from the drug by crushing or dissolving it in alcohol, which can defeat a time-release mechanism. King and Pain Therapeutics faced a delay in December as regulators requested more data on the drug candidate. The companies expect to resubmit an application for Remoxy with the FDA in the middle of 2010. Bristol, Tenn.-based King and San Mateo, Calif.-based Pain Therapeutics have been partners since 2005.
