$CARA to Present at 3rd Conference on the Therapeutic Potential of Kappa Opioids

• Company to present data from human abuse liability (HAL) study of I.V. CR845

SHELTON, Conn., April 15, 2015 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Cara Therapeutics, Inc. (CARA), a biotechnology company focused on developing and commercializing new chemical entities designed to alleviate pain and pruritus by selectively targeting kappa opioid receptors, today announced that Chief Medical Officer Dr. Joseph Stauffer will present data from Cara’s human abuse liability (HAL) study of I.V. CR845 in an oral session at the 3^rd Conference on the Therapeutic Potential of Kappa Opioids, held in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. CR845 is the Company’s first-in-class peripherally-selective kappa opioid agonist, which has potential to be the only non-scheduled or Schedule V opioid for acute pain.

The presentation details are as follows:

Title: “CR845, a novel peripherally-acting kappa opioid receptor agonist, has low abuse potential compared with pentazocine”
Date: Wednesday, April 22, 2015
Time: 9:15 a.m. ET
Location: The Carolina Inn, Chapel Hill, North Carolina
Speaker: Joseph Stauffer, DO, MBA

For more information about the 3rd Conference on the Therapeutic Potential of Kappa Opioids, please visithttps://depts.washington.edu/nidactr/kappatherapeutics2015.html.

About CR845

CR845 is a peripherally acting kappa opioid receptor agonist currently in development for the treatment of acute and chronic pain and uremic 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 pain intensity and opioid-related side effects. In over 400 subjects dosed to date, I.V. CR845 was found to be safe and well tolerated, without incurring the dysphoric and psychotomimetic side effects that have been reported with centrally acting (CNS-active) kappa opioid receptor agonists. In a human abuse liability trial, I.V. CR845 met the primary endpoint showing highly statistically significant reductions (p < 0.0001) in scores for “drug liking,” as well as “feeling high,” “overall liking,” and “take drug again” when compared to I.V. pentazocine, a Schedule IV opioid analgesic.

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 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 efficacy in patients with moderate-to-severe pain without inducing many of the undesirable side effects typically associated with currently available pain therapeutics.

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