Nano-enabled Peptide Pills

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An estimated 70 - 105 million Americans and around 20% of European adults suffer from severe chronic pain caused by non-malignant (e.g., HIV, post-herpetic or diabetic neuropathy, arthritis and lower back pain) and malignant (70%-90% of advanced cancer cases) conditions. Current therapies are inadequate in 75% of cases of chronic non-malignant pain and cause side effects in 80% of opioid treated patients; side effects include constipation, nausea, breathing problems addiction and accidental overdose. In 2006, 250,000 US patients required emergency hospital admission for pain drug related complications. We have developed a new nanomedicine based pain drug which is effective in animal studies and works when taken by mouth or by injection. As we are targeting a different receptor to conventional pain drugs, the drug is predicted to have fewer side effects. The compound we are developing does not work without it being put in nanoparticles.