Acura Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a specialty pharmaceutical company innovating abuse deterrent drugs, has received key patent from the United States Patent and Trademark Office. The patent no. 8,409,616 covers opioid products being developed by Acura with its Aversion polymer matrix technology.

Claims in the patent cover, among other inventions, Acura's Aversion polymer matrix technology when utilized with any water soluble drug of abuse. Also, certain claims in this patent are licensed to Pfizer Inc. which utilises the Aversion technology in its Oxecta (oxycodone HCl) tablets CII.

This is the fourth issued US patent directed at products developed with the Aversion technology.

Acura Pharmaceuticals is engaged in the research, development and commercialisation of product candidates intended to address medication abuse and misuse, utilizing its proprietary Aversion and IMPEDE technologies.