Chronic pain is a serious medical, social, and economic problem. The American Pain Society estimates that 45 percent of the population of the United States seeks medical help for chronic pain at some point in their lives. Over half of chronic pain patients are either partially or totally disabled. Current therapy does not always address adequately the needs of these patients. A novel approach for the treatment of chronic pain is proposed with the goal of developing more effective therapeutic agents. This approach is based on the conjugation of antisense oligonucleotides to carrier molecules that are internalized selectively by subsets of sensory neurons. The carrier portion of the conjugates will target the delivery of antisense oligonucleotides to neurons involved in chronic pain, and the antisense portion will inhibit the synthesis of proteins within these sensory neurons that contribute to the pain signal. Targeted antisense therapy has tremendous potential to improve the treatment of chronic pain patients for whom there is currently no effective medication. PROPOSED COMMERCIAL APPLICATION: More effective treatments for chronic pain are needed. The global market for pain medication today is approximately 7.7 billion dollars and growing approximately 7% a year. However, many types of pain are unresponsive to current medications. If the targeted antisense oligonucleotide approach proposed in this project provides an effective treatment, Neuromics intends to form a strategic alliance with a major pharmaceutical company to commercialize its development as an analgesic.
