In April, we focussed on IMI projects in the field of pain research. The most widely used drugs used to treat pain have been linked to addiction, or they come with intolerable side effects. In some cases, even opiates do not provide pain relief, leaving no therapeutic option for many people. To speed up the development of newer, non-addictive alternatives that work effectively, pharma companies have come together in IMI projects, helping to drive our understanding the factors that influence the placebo effect, developing standards for preclinical animal models for pain drug research, and harmonising measures for patient-reported pain-related outcomes, among many other efforts. Pain relief is usually top of the list of concerns for patients, and IMI's model of radical collaboration is bringing the reality of new and better pain treatments closer every day.
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Neuropathic pain was classified in a way that stymied research. Not anymore