Novalar launches first anesthesia reversal agent

Mar 9, 2009

Novalar Pharmaceuticals used the Chicago Dental Society Midwinter Meeting to officially unveil OraVerse, the first local anesthesia reversal agent that accelerates the return to normal sensation and function for dental patients who undergo soft-tissue anesthesia.

"How to address soft-tissue numbness is one of the most commonly asked questions in dentistry. OraVerse is the first solution of its kind that dentists can use to finally answer this question," stated Dr. Stanley Malamed, professor of anesthesia and medicine at the University of Southern California School of Dentistry, in a Novalar press release. "OraVerse will provide dentists with a convenient alternative for completing routine dental procedures that allows patients to comfortably return to their daily routine."

OraVerse is approved by the U.S. FDA as safe and effective for adults and children 6 years and older and weighing 33 lb or more, according to the company. In multicenter, double-blinded, randomized, controlled clinical trials of phentolamine mesylate, the active ingredient in OraVerse, researchers found that patients who received OraVerse experienced a return to normal sensation and function in approximately half the time (Journal of the American Dental Association, August 1, 2008, Vol. 139:8, pp. 1080-1093, 1095-1104).

OraVerse comes in a standard dental cartridge and can be injected using the same injection site and an identical technique as that used for local anesthetic, the company stated. It is used in a 1:1 ratio to local anesthetic and has been tested in doses of one-half, one, and two cartridges.