Cara Therapeutics to Sponsor Symposium and Present Posters at PAINWeek

Cara Therapeutics, Inc. (Nasdaq:CARA), a biotechnology company focused on developing and commercializing new chemical entities designed to alleviate pain and pruritus by selectively targeting peripheral kappa opioid receptors, today announced that it will sponsor a lunchtime symposium titled “Moving Beyond Mu with Kappa Opioid Receptor Agonists - Leaving the Baggage Behind” at PAINWeek, to be held September 6-10, 2016 at the Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas.

Pain management experts will discuss the latest developments in analgesia, including efficacy, safety, and abuse potential results from Cara’s Phase 2 chronic osteoarthritis pain and human abuse liability studies of CR845, the Company’s first-in-class peripherally selective kappa opioid agonist. The findings to be presented support the view that CR845 is unlikely to be recreationally abused or liable to cause physical dependence.

The symposium details are as follows: 

Date: Friday, September 9, 2016Time: 12:30 – 1:30 p.m. PTLocation:  Castellana Ballroom, Level 3, the Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas Experts:

• Joseph Stauffer, D.O., M.B.A., Chief Medical Officer, Cara Therapeutics; Assistant Professor, Department of Anesthesiology & Critical Care Medicine, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine
• Michael J. Brennan, M.D., Medical Director, the Pain Center of Fairfield; Senior Attending Physician, Department of Medicine, Bridgeport Hospital; Associate Director, Chronic Pain and Recovery Program, Silver Hill Hospital

In addition, two scientific posters will be on display in Gracia 7 on the 3rd level of the Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas from 9:00 a.m. PT on Wednesday, September 7 through 4:30 p.m. PT on Friday, September 9.

• Poster #122: “Preclinical and Clinical Assessments of the Abuse Potential of the Kappa-Opioid Receptor Agonist CR845 Suggest Low Abuse Potential”
• Poster #123: “Safety, Tolerability, and Effectiveness of Orally Administered CR845, a Peripherally Acting Kappa-Opioid Receptor Agonist, in Patients with Osteoarthritis of the Knee or Hip”

A poster reception will also be held Thursday, September 8 from 6:30 – 8:30 p.m. PT.

For more information on PAINWeek, visit: http://www.painweek.org/.

About CR845

CR845 is a peripherally acting kappa opioid receptor agonist currently in development for the treatment of acute and chronic pain and pruritus. In multiple randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled Phase 2 trials in patients undergoing laparoscopic hysterectomy or bunionectomy procedures, I.V. CR845 treatment resulted in statistically significant reductions in both pain intensity and opioid-related side effects. In a human abuse liability trial, I.V. CR845 demonstrated statistically significant reductions in “drug liking,” “feeling high,” “overall liking,” and “take drug again” scores in comparison to I.V. pentazocine, a Schedule IV analgesic.

An oral formulation of CR845 has also been evaluated in a Phase 2a study in osteoarthritis patients and was shown to be well tolerated with twice a day dosing for two weeks, with evidence of decreasing pain scores during that time period. 

In more than 818 subjects dosed to date, CR845 was found to be well tolerated, without incurring the dysphoric and psychotomimetic side effects that have been reported with centrally acting (CNS-active) kappa opioid receptor agonists.

About Cara Therapeutics

Cara Therapeutics is a clinical-stage biotechnology company focused on developing and commercializing new chemical entities designed to alleviate pain and pruritus by selectively targeting peripheral kappa opioid receptors. Cara is developing a novel and proprietary class of product candidates that target the body's peripheral nervous system and have demonstrated initial efficacy in patients with moderate-to-severe pain without inducing many of the undesirable side effects typically associated with currently available pain therapeutics.

INVESTOR CONTACT:
Jesse Baumgartner
Stern Investor Relations, Inc.
212-362-1200 
[e-mail]

MEDIA CONTACT: 
Annie Starr
6 Degrees
973-415-8838 
[e-mail]