Precision painkillers for chronic pain management

Cassowary Pharmaceuticals, a University of Queensland spin-off company, is developing precision painkillers that are more accurate and less harmful to the liver.

Professor Trent Munro, from the Australian Institute for Bioengineering and Nanotechnology (AIBN) and the scientific co-founder of Cassowary, said the drugs would help treat debilitating and chronic pain conditions associated with cancer, sciatica, post-herpetic neuralgia (a painful condition that can follow shingles), peripheral nerve injury and osteoarthritis.

“This type of targeted therapy reduces the potential side effects and safety issues associated with current pain treatments, and will also mean fewer doses are required,” Munro said.

“Creating drugs with these attributes could change the lives of millions of people who suffer from chronic neuropathic pain.”

Munro said while up to 10% of the adult population was affected by neuropathic pain, current treatments often presented problems.

“Many existing treatments are ineffective in a large number of patients and carry significant risk of side effects, including addiction,” he said.

Cassowary Pharma’s drug candidate targets a molecule thought to be important in how the human body senses pain.

“By building on the pioneering discoveries of Emeritus Professor Maree Smith and using the critical tools developed in the laboratory of UQ’s Professor Greg Monteith, we can create a drug that is very accurate, avoids the risk of liver toxicity and lessens the overall medication load,” Munro said.

After receiving funding from the Medical Research Future Fund’s (MRFF) national $40 million CUREator Scheme, Cassowary Pharma will be recruiting candidates for clinical trials over the next 18 months as it ramps up efforts to hit the market.

Munro said shaping Cassowary Pharma’s goals was a collaborative effort, involving Dr Lucia Zacchi of the School of Chemistry and Molecular Bioscience and AIBN’s Dr Martina Jones.

It was one of four UQ startups to receive funding earlier this year, all of which are each working to find new treatments for a diverse range of hard-to-treat conditions.

UQ’s commercialisation company UniQuest CEO Dr Dean Moss congratulated Cassowary Pharma and said the funding recognised the leadership role that UQ plays in technology transfer and commercialisation.

Image credit: iStockphoto.com/fizkes