Non-Addictive Analgesic
Engineering Non-Addictive Analgesic Peptides for Pain Management
PreveCeutical Medical Inc., and partner UniQuest Pty Ltd have signed a research and option agreement proposing to expand the use of their disulphide linker technology to develop non-addictive analgesics for moderate-to-severe pain.
This Research and Development program, led by Dr. Harry Parekh in-conjunction with his fellow collaborators at The University of Queensland’s School of Pharmacy, involves peptide library synthesis, pharmacological evaluation, alongside pharmacokinetic assessment and efficacy determinations in appropriate animal models of pain and inflammation, and may encompass either party’s intellectual property and product line and other pharmaceutical offerings that may fall within the peptide Research and Development program.
Dr. Parekh commented “This is a very exciting and important program as we focus on engineering a novel class of drugs derived from our very own endogenous pain pathways, for example when pain and inflammatory insults occur. Our preliminary work has highlighted that by using our proprietary linker technology we can enhance stability while maintaining, and in some cases enhancing the potency of lead bioactives. Having PreveCeutical on board will accelerate our current program, allowing us to rapidly expand and screen the bioactive library, taking the most promising candidates through to efficacy and pharmacokinetic evaluation.
Peptides are currently being used to target an array of disease indications including metabolic disorders, pain, cancers, cardiovascular and infectious diseases. The therapeutic peptide market is projected to undergo considerable expansion in the foreseeable future as technologies to enhance their stability and bioavailability emerge.