Nordic Life Science 1
NORDIC LIFE SCIENCE EDITOR IN CHIEF: MALIN OTMANI
ART DIRECTOR: ANNIKI SKEIDSVOLL EDÉN REPORTER: ELLEN R. DELISIO ENGLISH PROOFREADING: GAIL ADAM REPRO: LENA HOXTER COVER PHOTO: PRINCETON PRINTED BY: ÅTTA.45 2022 PUBLISHING DIRECTOR: MATTIAS OLME PRODUCT MANAGER: MATTIAS OLME MARKETING & SALES: ANDRES VARGAS ANDRES@NORDICLIFESCIENCE.ORG +46 8 588 941 56 COPYRIGHT 2022 BY MEDIAVALUE ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. REPRODUCTION IN WHOLE OR IN PART WHITHOUT PERMISSION IS PROHIBITED. A MAGAZINE FROM MEDIAVALUE MV INFORMATION AB, KINDSTUGATAN 1 111 31 STOCKHOLM, SWEDEN PHONE: +46 8 588 941 51 SUBSCRIPTION: ONE YEAR PRINT AND ONLINE SUBSCRIPTION: 1 990 SEK / 199 EUR / 219 USD 01. FOUR PRINTED ISSUES OF THE MAGAZINE, ALSO IN DIGITAL VERSION 02. ACCESS TO ARCHIVE, FULLY SEARCHABLE, INCLUDING ALL DIGITAL ISSUES 03. THE WEEKLY NEWSLETTER NLS NEWS AND THE MONTHLY NEWSLETTER NLS CAREERS 04. ACCESS TO ALL DIGITAL CONTENT ON NORDICLIFESCIENCE.ORG, UNLIMITED READING CALL: +46 8 588 941 51 OR SIGN UP AT: NORDICLIFESCIENCE.ORG Nobel Prize in Medicine or Physiology honored the discoveries of receptors for temperature and touch. These findings have increased our understanding of the very complicated and important sense we call touch. Ongoing research is elucidating the functions of the receptors in different physiological processes to be able to develop new and better treatments, not least when it comes to chronic pain. Many of today’s almost 60 million chronic pain patients are not satisfied with their current treatment, and if they use opioids they have a significant risk of withdrawal symptoms and dependency. Misuse, inappropriate over-prescription, lack of proper supervision and not least, corporate decisions, such as that of Purdue Pharma, to promote opioids misleadingly has led to the devastating opioid crisis in the USA. In 2020, more than 76,000 people died from opioids in the USA, and opioid addiction is a major driver of suicides in the country. Many experts also warn that the opioid epidemic will expand globally if action is not taken. Finding effective and safer ways of relieving chronic pain is therefore a major global health issue and at the top of many pharma companies’ wish lists. PARTNERS: Perhaps the Nobel discoveries in Medicine could be part of the solution. The TRPV1 receptor, identified by Laureate David Julius, has been shown to be up-regulated on neurons, to have reduced stimulation thresholds, and to cause an increased perception of pain. Activation of the receptor can desensitize the nerve pathway as a strategy for pain treatment, or one can block the receptor to diminish inflammatory pain. Both therapeutic strategies are being explored by a number of groups. The Swedish company AlzeCure Pharma describes for example in this issue how they are using the TRPV1 findings in their drug development aimed at treating neuropathic pain. The Piezo2 ion channel, identified by Laureate Ardem Patapoutian, has also been shown to be a molecular target for treating clinical pain, and specifically tactile allodynia, which patients suffering from fibromyalgia or nerve damage from chemotherapy experience. Hopefully, digging deeper into these, and other receptors, will help scientists find safer molecules and new solutions to this global health challenge. MALIN OTMANI EDITOR IN CHIEF FOR DAILY UPDATES ON THE NORDIC LIFE SCIENCE INDUSTRY, VISIT: NORDICLIFESCIENCE.ORG.