Singapore-listed iX Biopharma bets big on non-opioid pain relief

[SINGAPORE] It took semaglutide (an anti-diabetic prescription drug that is gaining traction as an anti-obesity medication) to convince Wall Street that an overlooked drug class could become a hundred-billion-dollar market. Now, a handful of companies are betting that non-opioid pain relief is next – and Singapore’s iX Biopharma thinks it has the edge.

The company’s flagship drug, Wafermine, is a sublingual ketamine wafer designed to dissolve under the tongue and deliver rapid pain relief without the addiction risks that have made opioids so controversial.

Since its listing on the Singapore Exchange (SGX) in 2015, iX Biopharma has been developing Wafermine through the clinical trial process required for regulatory approval.