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Naloxone SR Capsules in Patients With Opioid Induced Constipation

CompletedPhase 2NCT00984334
View the official record on ClinicalTrials.gov

Recruiting status changes often. Contact the study team listed on ClinicalTrials.gov, and talk to your doctor before joining a study.

This study has no listed site in Canada in this snapshot. It is included as part of the worldwide chronic pain corpus.

Brief summary (from the registry)

For many patients taking opioids for pain relief one of the most distressing side effects is constipation. Naloxone is effective in the reversal of the effects of opioids and is used following opioid overdose. If naloxone is given by mouth it would relieve the effects of constipation but as it goes into the blood stream very quickly, it would also reverse the effects of the opioid and therefore stop the pain relief. The aim of this study is to examine a slow release formulation of naloxone to see if is can reduce constipation without reducing the pain relieving effects of the opioid.

Study details

Official title
A Multicentre, Randomised, Double-Blind, Placebo-Controlled, Multiple Ascending Dose Study Evaluating the Safety, Tolerability and Efficacy of Naloxone SR Capsules in Subjects With Constipation Due to Opioids, Taken for Persistent Non-Cancer Pain
Conditions
Interventions
  • Drug: Naloxone SR 5 mg capsules
  • Drug: Placebo
  • Drug: Naloxone SR 10 mg capsules
  • Drug: Naloxone SR 20mg capsules
  • Drug: Naloxone SR 2.5 mg capsules
Sponsor
S.L.A. Pharma AG
Start date
2009-10
Primary completion
2012-01
Sex
All
Age range
from 18 Years
Results posted
Yes, on ClinicalTrials.gov
Countries
Germany, United Kingdom
Total sites listed
8

Eligibility criteria

Show eligibility criteria (verbatim from the registry)
Inclusion Criteria: * All subjects must give written informed consent * Male or female subjects greater than 18 years of age * Taking opioid full agonist therapy(oral or transdermal) for persistent non-cancer pain, for at least 4 weeks prior to baseline visit * Subjects with at least a 3 week history of OIC prior to baseline; where bowel dysfunction is predominantly due to opioids and started following commencement of opioid therapy * Subjects with \<3 SBMs a week and experiencing one or more bowel symptoms (incomplete evacuation, straining, hard/small pellets) for 25% or more of bowel movements during the screening period * Subjects must be willing to discontinue all current laxative (constipation) therapy. Bisacodyl will be provided and taken as required Exclusion Criteria: * Women of childbearing potential, unless surgically sterile or using adequate contraception (either IUD, oral or depot contraceptive, or barrier plus spermicide). Women using oral contraception must have started using it at least 2 months prior to enrolment * Women who are pregnant or breastfeeding * Symptoms suggestive of non-opioid related bowel dysfunction (e.g. IBS - intermittent constipation or diarrhoea) or have diarrhoea or loose stools in the 4 weeks prior to baseline * History of chronic constipation prior to commencing opioid therapy * Gastrointestinal disorders known to affect bowel transit, or contribute to bowel dysfunction (other than OIC) * Chronic faecal incontinence * Subjects who have a colostomy, ileostomy, or colectomy with ileorectal anastomosis * Subjects with a history of neoplastic disease within 5 years (except for basal cell carcinoma or non-metastatic squamous cell carcinoma of the skin) * Subjects taking opioids for the management of drug addiction Subjects who do not meet any of the following criteria regarding baseline medications. Analgesia (including opioids and NSAIDs) should be stable throughout the trial. * Any baseline analgesia must have been administered at a stable dose for a minimum of 4 weeks. If non-opioid analgesia recently discontinued, must have stopped at least 4 weeks prior to baseline * Laxatives (outside that allowed by the protocol) are not permitted; these agents must have been discontinued at the screening visit. * Use of drugs known to affect gut transit time (other than opioids) are not permitted (see Section 6.9 for exceptions) * Use of mixed agonist/antagonist, or partial agonist opioids are not permitted (e.g. buprenorphine, pe…

Source: ClinicalTrials.gov (US National Library of Medicine), snapshot October 2026. Check the registry for current recruiting status. Record: https://clinicaltrials.gov/study/NCT00984334