PAION has licensed remimazolam to Mundipharma for regulatory and commercial activity in Japan. Deal terms include a €1M upfront payment, up to €25M in milestone payments, and >10% to >20% royalties.
From the paper's conclusion: "Plants are sensitive to several anaesthetics that have no structural similarities. As in animals and humans, anaesthetics used at appropriate concentrations block action potentials and immobilize organs via effects on action potentials, endocytic vesicle recycling and ROS homeostasis. Plants emerge as ideal model objects to study general questions related to anaesthesia, as well as to serve as a suitable test system for human anaesthesia."
Choice of anesthetic gas is thought to potentially be a significant contributor to emissions, particularly when desflurane is used instead of cheaper alternatives.
EDITOR'S NOTE: This is an enormously complicated subject that is oversimplified in this study. While we support (and in fact are developing) agents with less negative atmospheric impact, other alternatives to non-use are inexpensive and available, such as capture and landfill diversion. Our view is that the financial considerations associated with clinical decision making probably vastly outweigh the costs of non-use, and encourage the consideration of these types of questions to improve this type of research.
Volatile general anesthetics are air pollutants. Some health care organizations are working to limit their impact.
EDITOR'S NOTE: Expanesthetics is working on new inhaled general anesthetics that may have less impact on the environment. Also, inexpensive technology (which we use) has long been available to prevent out-gassing these agents. We assume hospitals don't deploy them for economic or logistical reasons.
<strong>Editor's Note:</strong> We join with our colleagues around the world in expressing our sadness at the passing away this week of Dr. Ted Eger, pioneer of modern inhaled anesthetics, mentor to our inventor, and developer of the forerunner technology on which Expanesthetics is based. Our community has lost a giant.<br><br> To celebrate his legacy, consider a donation with us in his honor and memory to the <a href="http://wilderness.org" target="_blank">The Wilderness Society</a>.