Drugs in Development for Opioid-Induced Constipation

Opioid-induced bowel dysfunction (OIBD) is a collective term used to describe the gastrointestinal side effects of long-term opioid therapy in chronic pain patients. Constipation, nausea, vomiting, bloating, abdominal pain, and gastric reflux are among the most common gastrointestinal adverse effects. Within opioid-induced bowel dysfunction, a more specific subset exists, opioid-induced constipation, characterized by infrequent stools, straining, hard, dry stools, and incomplete evacuation. In these patients, the constipation can be so severe that they are willing to compromise their pain management by reducing their opioid analgesic dose, switch to a less potent opioid with inadequate pain relief, or completely discontinue their opioid medication all together. It is evident that opioidinduced constipation remains a significant barrier to achieving optimal pain management and represents a large unmet medical NEED.