Euthanasia Prevention Group Sees Hope for Pain Control in New Painkiller

Toronto, January 13, 2003 (LifeSiteNews.com)

Phase II clinical trials for a new painkiller named TectinTM, which is derived from the pufferfish, are being carried out in cancer centres throughout Canada. Current clinical trials are being done on late stage cancer patients who are experiencing uncontrolled pain and who have not undergone chemotherapy during the past month.

Alex Schadenberg, Executive Director of the Euthanasia Prevention Coalition, explained his group's interest in the painkillers. "The fear of experiencing uncontrolled pain is cited as the most important reason that people support legalizing euthanasia and assisted suicide. When pain is controlled, dying people seem more concerned about living their final days rather than having control over the time and place of their death," Schadenberg told LifeSite.

Another important consideration for the Coalition is that it is believed that TectinTM does not have the possible but unintentional side-effect of hastening or causing death. High dosages of morphine, in some circumstances, can have a "double effect" of relieving severe pain but also eventually killing the patient when not properly administered. The amount of TectinTM that is required to kill a patient would be astronomical.

TectinTM was developed in China for many uses and has been extensive tested in that country. Chinese clinical tests that were done on cancer patients whose pain was not relieved by traditional analgesics found that all of the participants experienced nearly total pain relief within 5 - 30 minutes, that the pain continued to be relieved, and there were few side-effects.

The Euthanasia Prevention Coalition is urging anyone who may qualify for TectinTM clinical trials to call the toll-free information number: 1-800-722-7549.

Visit the Euthanasia Prevention Coalition website:

http://www.epcc.ca/

(c) Copyright: LifeSite Daily News is a production of Interim Publishing. Permission to republish is granted (with limitation*) but acknowledgement of source is *REQUIRED* (use LifeSiteNews.com).

NEWS TIPS to lsn@lifesite.net or LifeSite News at (416) 204-1687 ext. 444

Please help us to continue this service. Mail contributions to: Interim Publishing, Att'n LifeSite, 104 Bond St. E., Toronto, ON M5B 1X9 or contribute on line at http://www.lifesite.net/contribute/lifesite/

RARTL Followup:  An e-mail conversation (1/21/2003) said that the clinical trials in Canada for this stage should wrap up at the end of February allowing for US trials to begin in June. International Wex is the name of the company conducting the trials and they have already had meetings with the FDA regarding the prerequisites needed to start clinical trials.  The company website is www.wextech.ca

It has not been announced who will actually be responsible for the trials organisation in the
US.