Our Innovation Analysts recently looked into emerging technologies and up-and-coming startups working on solutions for the pharma sector. As there is a large number of startups working on a wide variety of solutions, we want to share our insights with you. This time, we are taking a look at 5 promising startups developing analgesic solutions.
Heat Map: 5 Top Emerging Analgesic Solutions
Using our StartUs Insights Discovery Platform, covering 1.379.000+ startups & scaleups globally, we looked at innovation in the field of pharma. For this research, we identified 79 relevant solutions and picked 5 to showcase below. These companies were chosen based on a data-driven startup scouting approach, taking into account factors such as location, founding year, and relevance of technology, among others. Depending on your specific criteria, the top picks might look entirely different.
The Global Startup Heat Map below highlights 5 startups & scaleups developing analgesic solutions. Moreover, the Heat Map reveals regions that observe a high startup activity and illustrates the geographic distribution of all 79 companies we analyzed for this specific topic.
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Novaremed – Oral Analgesic
Damage to the nerves or other parts of the nervous system causes chronic neuropathic pain. The traditional treatment for such conditions includes anticonvulsant and antidepressant medications that have multiple side effects including a possible negative effect on the patient’s mental wellbeing. Startups are developing new analgesic solutions to treat neuropathic pain, helping patients better manage the pain with minimal side effects.
Swiss startup Novaremed develops NRD.E1, an oral medication for treating diabetic neuropathic pain. The analgesic acts as a Lyn kinase modulator and improves the purinergic receptor that controls pain processing in the central nervous system (CNS). The startup is currently preparing for Phase II studies to further validate the safety and efficacy of the drug.
Pharmachal – Drug Delivery System
Topical analgesic solutions alleviate pain from skin irritations such as sunburn, insect bites, poison ivy, minor cuts, scratches, or burns. Sprays, gels, and foams are some commonly available analgesics in the market. Pharmaceutical advances enable startups to develop analgesics that also act as a topical drug delivery system.
Australian startup Pharmachal creates NOPAYNE, a patented mini-emulsion lidocaine spray to treat burns. NOPAYNE delivers a wide range of opioids, cannabinoids, and other drugs to patients either orally, nasally, or rectally. The alcohol-free solution provides quick and effective pain relief and does not require syringes.
AntalGenics – Chronic Arthritis
Although traditional over-the-counter (OTC) pain medications such as tylenol, ibuprofen, and naproxen help with arthritic pain management, they can create dependency. Addiction to pain medication results in patients abusing drugs and other substances. To omit this effect, startups develop analgesics that do not include any side effects of existing medication as a safer alternative to traditional chronic pain medication.
Spanish startup AntalGenics is developing new molecules to treat chronic pain. The startup is currently investigating two molecular entities, AG1529 and AG1531, for the treatment of psoriatic pruritus and osteoarthritic pain. Moreover, the startup also develops cosmetic active ingredients for sensitive scalps and skin.
InnoPain – Morphine Replacement
Postoperative care sometimes requires morphine for pain management. However, naturally available opioids such as morphine have severe side effects including nausea, drowsiness, and loss of appetite. Advancements in pharma research and development enable startups to create morphine replacements without harmful side effects.
French startup InnoPain is working on a drug to mimic the effects of morphine but without its side effects. The startup’s lead candidate, TREK-1, interacts with the μ-opioid receptor (μOR) to produce the analgesic effect of morphine. Additionally, the startup is developing RNE28, a new class of analgesic drugs for intravenous and oral administration.
Neumentum – Non-Opioid Analgesics
Traditional pain management solutions such as opioids may lead to addiction. Also, their continuous use impacts tolerance levels in patients, who eventually require larger doses for effective pain management. On the contrary, non-opioid analgesics help manage chronic pain in a safe and effective manner without the harmful effects of addiction. Startups are focusing their efforts on developing non-opioid solutions, including non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs).
The US-based startup Neumentum develops NTM-001, a pre-mixed bag ketorolac continuous infusion that maintains pain relief at an opioid level. This solution helps reduce the need for conventional opioids. Currently in Phase 3 trials, NTM-001 is a formulation of ketorolac for continuous infusion over 24 hours.
What About The Other 74 Solutions?
While we believe data is key to creating insights it can be easy to be overwhelmed by it. Our ambition is to create a comprehensive overview and provide actionable innovation intelligence and enable you to achieve your goals faster. The 5 analgesic solutions showcased above are promising examples out of 79 we analyzed for this article. To identify the most relevant solutions based on your specific criteria, get in touch.
