AcelRX post-op pain treatment meets late-stage study goal

(Reuters) – AcelRX Pharmaceuticals Inc said its experimental treatment for post-operative pain met its main goal in a late-stage trial of patients who had undergone knee or hip replacement surgery, sending its shares up 15 percent. AcelRX said its Sufentanil NanoTab PCA System showed a decrease in pain intensity, compared with a placebo, as measured on a clinical scale 48 hours after surgery. In the last of three late-stage trials, the drug-device combination also significantly reduced pain compared with a placebo 24 hours and 72 hours after surgery, the company said. …