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Patients suffering from constipation from a variety of causes have new treatment options approaching the regulatory horizon, as positive Phase III data were reported last week for two products with very different mechanisms of action. But they are neither complementary nor competitive, largely because the two companies are addressing different segments of the market. Adolor Corp. is targeting post-operative ileus as its first indication and Sucampo Pharmaceuticals Inc. is looking first at chronic occasional constipation.

ADLR reported on its study 304, a placebo-controlled U.S. Phase III trial in 168 chronic opioid users with opioid-induced bowel dysfunction (OBD), in which 55% of patients receiving 1 mg of alvimopan reported at least one bowel movement during the eight hours after treatment compared to 29% for placebo (p<0.001). At a lower 0.5 mg dose, 43% of patients responded (p<0.001)...