Dose-ranging study for prolonged postoperative analgesia in subjects undergoing total knee arthroplasty

This is a phase 2, multicenter, parallel-group, active-control, randomized, double-blind, dose-ranging study conducted to evaluate three dose levels of SKY0402 compared with 150 mg of bupivacaine HCl.

Inclusion Criteria:

1. Male or female, greater than or equal to 18 and less than or equal to 75 years of age at the Screening Visit.
2. Female subjects only: Postmenopausal, surgically sterile, or willing to use acceptable means of contraception for at least 30 days after surgery including any of the following: hormonal contraceptives (e.g., oral, injectable, implantable starting at least 30 days before study drug administration), effective double-barrier methods (e.g., condoms with spermicide), intrauterine device, lifestyle with a personal choice of abstinence, nonheterosexual lifestyle, or a strictly monogamous relationship with a partner who has had a vasectomy.
3. Scheduled to undergo primary unilateral total knee arthroplasty (TKA) under general anesthesia.
4. American Society of Anesthesiology (ASA) Physical Class 1-3.
5. Able and willing to comply with all study visits and procedures.
6. Able to speak, read, and understand the language of the Informed Consent, study questionnaires, and other instruments used for collecting subject-reported outcomes, in order to enable accurate and appropriate responses to pain scales and other required study assessments.
7. Willing and capable of providing written informed consent.

Exclusion Criteria:

1. Pregnancy, nursing, or planning to become pregnant during the study or within one month after dosing.

2. Use of any of the following medications within the times specified before surgery:

   • Long-acting opioid medication within 3 days.
   • Any opioid medication within 24 hours.

3. Concurrent, painful, physical condition or concurrent surgery that may require analgesic treatment in the postoperative period for pain that is not strictly related to the surgical site administered study treatment, and which may confound the postoperative assessments (e.g., significant pain from other joints, chronic neuropathic pain, concurrent contralateral TKA, concurrent foot surgery, etc.).

4. Body weight less than 50 kilograms (110 pounds) or morbid obesity.

5. Contraindication to any of the pain-control agents planned for postoperative use (e.g., acetaminophen, morphine, oxycodone, ketorolac).

6. Contraindication to epinephrine, such as concurrent administration of monoamine oxidase (MAO) inhibitors or antidepressants of amitriptyline or imipramine types, conditions where the production or exacerbation of tachycardia could prove fatal (e.g., poorly controlled thyrotoxicosis or severe heart disease), or any other pathological conditions that might be aggravated by the effects of epinephrine.

7. Administration of an investigational drug within 30 days or 5 elimination half-lives of such investigational drug, whichever is longer, prior to study drug administration, or planned administration of another investigational product or procedure during the subject's participation in this study.

8. History of, suspected, or known addiction to or abuse of illicit drug(s), prescription medicine(s), or alcohol within the past 2 years.

9. Uncontrolled anxiety, schizophrenia, or other psychiatric disorder that, in the opinion of the Investigator, may interfere with study assessments or compliance.

10. Current or historical evidence of any clinically significant disease or condition, especially cardiovascular or neurological conditions that, in the opinion of the Investigator, may increase the risk of surgery or complicate the subject's postoperative course.

11. Significant medical conditions or laboratory results that, in the opinion of the Investigator, indicate an increased vulnerability to study drugs and procedures, and expose the subject to an unreasonable risk as a result of participating in this clinical trial, such as: debilitating diseases, acute illnesses, hypotension, partial or complete conduction block, impaired cardiac function, untreated hypertension, advanced arteriosclerotic heart disease, cerebral vascular insufficiency, pre-existing abnormal neurological or neuromuscular disease (e.g., epilepsy, myasthenia gravis), advanced liver disease, severe renal impairment, advanced diabetes comorbid conditions associated with an immunocompromised status, such as blood dyscrasias, HIV/AIDS, or recent chemotherapy.

    In addition, the subject will be ineligible to receive study drug if he or she meets the following criteria during surgery:

12. Any clinically significant event or condition uncovered during surgery(e.g., excessive bleeding), which occurs before study drug administration, that might render the subject medically unstable or complicate the subject's postoperative course.