Pharmaceutical company developing ‘smokable’ drug delivery for pain, anxiety: NewsTarget.com

A California-based pharmaceutical company is developing drugs that can be smoked like cigarettes in order to offer results within seconds rather than minutes.

"It's a useful mode of delivery, though its desirability and frequency of prescription will depend on the disorder," commented Dr. Jeffrey Lieberman, chairman of psychiatry at Columbia University.

Alexza Pharmaceuticals Inc. is currently at work on inhalable drugs for pain, anxiety and schizophrenia-induced agitation. While other companies have produced inhaled drugs before — particularly for respiratory disorders like asthma — Alexza is the first to experiment with "smokable" varieties.

Inhaled drugs are much faster acting than pills, because the medicine passes through the lungs and into the blood within seconds, rather than having to be digested and absorbed. Alexza's smokable drugs involve heating liquid drugs to create a vapor. Unique about this idea is the company's intention to create a portable delivery device, so that patients can carry their medication anywhere they go. Alexza is currently testing a hip-flask-sized, battery-powered package.

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Pharmaceutical companies hope to offer "smokable" drugs for pain, anxiety

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