Chronic post-surgical pain is a significantly incapacitating and under-evaluated condition impacting several millions of people worldwide each year. It lasts from few weeks until more than a year after the initial insult and is induced in approximately 10% of all surgeries. Despite considerable efforts to develop new treatments, opioids are prescribed to 80% of patients worldwide postoperatively. Opioids side effect are well described, and opioid-induced hyperalgesia (OIH) and tolerance are well known for worsening post-operative pain. Additionally, untreated OIH increases the risk of developing persistent postsurgical pain and delays hospital discharge. Opioids consumption for post-operative pain has contributed substantially to the current opioid crisis.
In this context, there is an urgent need to prevent patients from chronification of post-operative pain. A new treatment preventing pain chronification and hyperalgesia will have a tremendous effect and help overcome the current opioid crisis.
Program description
NPFFR antagonist
- Discovery
- Candidate
- Preclinical
- Phase I
Domain’s NPFFR antagonist program, originating from the university of Strasbourg in France, is currently in lead optimization phase. Animal proof-of-concept studies as well as evaluations through the Addiction Treatment Discovery Program at the National Institute for Drug Abuse (ATDP-NIDA) have shown that NPFFR antagonist holds strong potential to become a disease-modifying treatment to combat opioid crisis and pain chronification.
We are developing a first-in-class small molecule antagonists of NPFF receptor to address multiple aspects of pain chronification and hyperalgesia.
This program is at the end of lead op
Additional resources
This poster presents the characterization of a proprietary NPFF receptor antagonist as a game-changer and a promising therapeutic strategy to fight the current opioid crisis.