The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has granted fast-track designation to Collegium Pharmaceutical’s COL-172, a tamper-resistant, extended-release oral opioid treatment for pain.

COL-172 is a round-the-clock treatment for patients with chronic pain, and uses Collegium Pharmaceuticals’s DETERx technology to prevent tampering with the time-release mechanism of the drug.

Collegium has filed an investigational new drug application with the FDA for its DETERx technology.

The FDA’s fast-track programme aims to speed up the review of new drugs that could treat serious or life-threatening conditions.