MEDICAL: New drug helps dental patients get back that feeling

Carmel Valley company produces OraVerse, which helps dental anesthetic wear off

By BRADLEY J. FIKES - Staff Writer | Tuesday, June 24, 2008 2:13 PM PDT ∞

CARMEL VALLEY ---- You've gone to the dentist for some needed oral maintenance. But after the drill's whirrrrr has quieted and you're out the door, the anesthetic lingers on in your unfeeling cotton mouth.

Talking is very difficult while the mouth is anesthetized. Safety is also a concern ---- without the warning sense of pain, some patients are prone to bite their tongues.

A new drug from Novalar, a Carmel Valley-based dental pharmaceutical company, solves this familiar problem. Called OraVerse, it's due to reach the market in October, coinciding with the American Dental Association's annual meeting in San Antonio.

OraVerse speeds the time for recovering normal sensation by more than 80 minutes, as measured in human clinical trials, reducing the recovery time by about half. The drug was approved for sale in the United States in May.

Patients who have had local anesthesia for periodontal restorative and maintenance work such as fillings are good candidates for OraVerse, said Bruce Rutherford, Novalar's vice president of clinical development.

Not suited for OraVerse are those who have had extensive oral surgery procedures that could cause severe pain, such as a root canal, said Rutherford, a dentist. Children under 6 are also not eligible.

All the major anesthetics, such as lidocaine, are compatible with OraVerse, Rutherford said.

Steven Luo, a dentist from Imperial Beach who took part in testing OraVerse, said some patients in the testing were able to guess they had received OraVerse, which was compared to a fake injection.

"Most of the patients had had dental work done in the past, and they could tell (the anesthesia) was wearing off quicker," Luo said.

OraVerse is easy to give and requires little preparation, Luo said.

"Patients can decide right on the spot," to get OraVerse after having dental work done, he said.

Rutherford said surveys indicate a strong demand for an anesthetic reversal drug. With more than 300 million cartridges of local dental anesthetic sold in the U.S. annually, the company estimates the potential market at $1 billion to $2 billion a year. At a 20 percent rate of adoption, that would mean sales of $200 million to $400 million a year, the company said.

In November, Novalar raised $30 million in venture capital funding. The money will be used for the launch of OraVerse, the company said.

"We will be communicating primarily to dentists," Rutherford said. "We want to talk to them first."

Luo said he's looking forward to offering OraVerse to his patients, because there's nothing like it on the market.

"It's a real revolutionary concept," Luo said."In dentistry, there are thousands of new products out each year, and most of them are intended as improvements for another dental item. But OraVerse is a one-of-a-kind product. It's one of the most exciting things to happen in dentistry in a long time."

Contact staff writer Bradley J. Fikes at (760) 739-6641 or bfikes@nctimes.com.

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