Cadence Pharmaceuticals, Inc has received marketing approval from US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for Ofirmev (acetaminophen) injection, the first and only intravenous (IV) formulation of acetaminophen to be approved in the United States. Ofirmev is indicated for the management of mild to moderate pain, the management of moderate to severe pain with adjunctive opioid analgesics, and the reduction of fever.

"The approval of Ofirmev is a significant milestone for Cadence as we advance our mission to improve the lives of hospitalized adults and children," said Ted Schroeder, President and CEO of Cadence. "IV acetaminophen is the unit market share leader among all injectable pain medications in Europe. With our planned launch early in the first quarter of 2011, we believe that Ofirmev will fill a significant gap in the United States for the treatment of pain and fever in the hospital setting."

Acute pain, particularly postoperative pain, often requires a multi-modal approach in which two or more analgesics are used with the goal of providing better analgesic efficacy. US physicians already prescribe acetaminophen frequently in combination with opioids for oral management of pain, where it is the most widely used non-opioid in fixed combination therapies. In clinical studies, Ofirmev improved pain relief, reduced opioid consumption, and improved patient satisfaction when used as part of a multi-modal regimen.

"Ofirmev is a long-awaited and much needed addition to postoperative pain management," said Eugene R Viscusi, director of Acute Pain Management at Thomas Jefferson University in Philadelphia. "With the approval of Ofirmev, clinicians will now be better able to use a multi-modal approach to pain management in the hospital setting, when oral medication can't be used."

Ofirmev (acetaminophen) injection is Cadence Pharmaceuticals' proprietary intravenous formulation of acetaminophen.