An analgesic and a delivery agent are combined in a pharmaceutical composition such that, on introduction into the nasal cavity of a patient to be treated, the analgesic may be delivered to the bloodstream to produce within 30 minutes a therapeutic plasma concentration, Cther, of 0.2 ng/ml or greater which is maintained for a duration Tmaint of at least 2 hours. The analgesic may be an opioid analgesic or a non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug.