Katharina Buczek
The integrated stress response (ISR) is a sophisticated system of cell signals that aids the body’s reaction to injuries and illnesses. Properly managing ISR is essential for achieving equilibrium and fostering recovery. Conversely, its malfunction can contribute to a range of conditions, such as diabetes, metabolic disorders, and cancer.
So, according to Martin, it’s the research team’s goal to develop this compound into a medication that can address chronic pain without the risks associated with opioids.
“Neuropathic pain is often a debilitating condition that can affect people their entire lives, and we need a treatment that is well tolerated and effective,” he explained.
A company known as NuvoNuro Inc., which was established by Martin along with fellow researchers from the study, has been awarded a grant by the National Institutes of Health HEAL Initiative– which aims to discover scientific answers to the opioid crisis in America. This financial support is vital for advancing the clinical development of a medication derived from FEM-1689.
“This work is the culmination of a wonderful five-year collaboration with our colleagues at UT Austin and is a great example of academic drug discovery pushing the field of non-opioid pain therapeutics forward,” concluded Theodore Price, the study’s corresponding author.
“Our funding from NIH on this continuing project through our spin-out company, NuvoNuro, has the potential to take us toward clinical development in the next few years, which is extraordinarily exciting.”
To read the study’s complete findings, which have since been published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, visit the link here.
