Highland looks for partners for abuse-resistant prescriptions

There is a particular emphasis these days on developing drugs that reduce the chances for abuse, particularly for opioid-based prescriptions drugs. Along those lines, Highland Pharmaceuticals says it has "extraction resistant technology" that makes it difficult to abuse opioid-based medications. Highland says it can produce products such as oxycodone in solid dose, oral tablets that "cannot be crushed for inhalation or extracted for injection."

"Essentially, our delivery system frustrates the most well-known forms of opiate drug abuse. These methods include crushing tablets into a fine powder for inhalation or extracting with water or alcohol for injection--all for an enhanced 'high'," says Highland CEO Bill Moskoff in a statement.

The company said that in tests, less than 10 percent of an opioid was able to be extracted using methods most commonly known to street abusers. "This data supports the conclusion that the opioid content would not be sufficient to produce the associated euphoric effect and that it would greatly frustrate a user's tendency for this mode of abuse," according to the company.

Highland is actively seeking strategic partners for its abuse-resistant technology.

- read the Highland release