Content about Chronic pain

LAKE FOREST, Ill. — Omron recently charged analgesic aisles with a new pain relief option. Omron's Electro-Therapy Pain Relief unit is the only approved transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation unit on the market and should be an adjunctive sale for chronic pain sufferers. The product could add a spark to nonmedicinal, external pain relief. Sales of heat and ice packs were relatively flat in 2012, with sales approaching $235 million.

LAKE FOREST, Ill. — There’s a new option for chronic pain sufferers that ought to spark some growth across external analgesics, including heat and ice packs: Omron’s recently approved ElectroTherapy Pain Relief unit. There are as many as 60 million chronic pain sufferers, according to the American Chronic Pain Association. And of those in search of pain relief solutions, 80% seek more than one type, according to research conducted on behalf of Thermionics. So Omron’s $69.99 transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation unit should be an adjunctive sale.

WASHINGTON — A Food and Drug Administration panel will meet Monday to discuss a class of drugs designed to treat chronic painful conditions that currently are under development and the safety issues possibly related to the drugs.

RARITAN, N.J. — The Food and Drug Administration has approved a drug made by Johnson & Johnson for treating chronic pain, a J&J subsidiary said Friday.

The FDA approved Janssen Pharmaceuticals' Nucynta ER (tapentadol) tablets, an extended-release drug for moderate to severe chronic pain in adults for whom a continuous, around-the-clock opioid analgesic is needed for an extended period of time.

ST. LOUIS — The Food and Drug Administration has approved an opioid painkiller made by Covidien's generic drug division, the medical supply company said.

Covidien said the FDA approved Mallinckrodt's morphine sulfate oral solution, used to relieve moderate to severe acute and chronic pain in opioid-tolerant patients.

INDIANAPOLIS The Food and Drug Administration has approved a new usage for a drug used to treat depression and pain.

Eli Lilly said Thursday that the FDA had approved Cymbalta (duloxetine hydrochloride) for treating chronic musculoskeletal pain. This is the fifth indication for which the agency has approved Cymbalta, after major depressive disorder, generalized anxiety disorder, diabetic peripheral neuropathic pain and fibromyalgia, Lilly said.

RARITAN, N.J. The Food and Drug Administration turned down a regulatory approval application from Johnson & Johnson for a drug to treat chronic pain, J&J said Monday.

BETHESDA, Md. A Food and Drug Administration advisory committee has voted to recommend expanding the use of an Eli Lilly & Co. pain drug, the drug maker said Thursday.

Lilly said the FDA’s Anesthetic and Life Support Drugs Advisory Committee voted to recommend approval of Cymbalta (duloxetine hydrochloride) as a treatment for chronic lower back pain, though it did not support the drug as a treatment for chronic pain due to osteoarthritis. The drug currently is approved for treating diabetic peripheral neuropathic pain and fibromyalgia.