Botulinum based drug to “revolutionise” pain relief

Monday July 23rd, 2018

A drug that combines botulinum and opioids could “revolutionise” pain management, according to its UK developers.

Scientists successfully merged botulinum with dermorphin, creating a compound called Derm-BOT.

They say this has powerful pain numbing abilities without the side-effects of opioids.

The role of the opioid portion of the drug is to bind to opioid receptors.

The drug has been developed at Sheffield University, UK, University College, London, UK, and the Hospital for Sick Children in Toronto, Canada.

So far the compound has been tested in mouse models. During five years of study, 200 mice were injected with Derm-BOT, SP-BOT or morphine. The findings were reported in Science Translational Medicine.

Researcher Dr Maria Maiarù said: “We were impressed to see that one tiny injection was enough to stop chronic pain caused by inflammation and nerve damage for at least a month.

“Furthermore, a single injection of Derm-BOT reduced mechanical hypersensitivity to the same extent as morphine. We hope to take our investigations forward with the aim of translating this into the clinic.”

Fellow researcher Professor Steve Hunt said: “It does block nerve pain for up to four months without affecting normal pain responses. It really could revolutionise how chronic pain is treated if we can translate it into clinic, removing the need for daily opioid intake.”

Selective neuronal silencing using synthetic botulinum molecules alleviates chronic pain in mice. Science Translational Medicine 18 July 2018; doi:10.1126/scitranslmed.aar7384

Tags: North America | Pain Relief | Pharmaceuticals | UK News

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