InteliSpark client, Young BioPharma, LLC, wins an award from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to conduct research on a novel drug to treat chronic pain.
Around 100 million Americans live with chronic pain and pay a high price for it in direct medical treatment costs and lost productivity. Chronic pain is linked to decreased mobility, dependence on opioids, anxiety and depression, and reduced quality of life. The use of opioids to treat chronic pain has amplified drug abuse and addiction, culminating in the drug overdose deaths of 70,237 Americans in 2017.
To meet this critical need for alternative pain treatment, Young BioPharma, has explored safe and effective, nature product-based therapies for the treatment of chronic pain. Researchers have discovered a novel compound that can be employed at higher doses in clinical trials through more effective intravenous and oral administrations in comparison to other plant-derived medicines.
In phase I of this Small Business Research Innovation (SBIR) project, the research team led by entrepreneur Dr. Young Shen, will test this revolutionary drug in animal studies. With the hope of eventual approval by the FDA (U.S. Food and Drug Administration), Young BioPharma will potentially provide millions of patients with alternative, safe, and effective treatment of chronic pain. Bringing such a drug to market has profound implications not only on improved quality of life and health outcomes, but also on the drug abuse and addiction crisis that persists in the nation.