4 December 2016

Sherbrooke neurophysiologist Philippe Sarret and his team have received a total of $8.9M in grants to develop a new type of analgesics with fewer side effects for people suffering from chronic pain.

More specifically, the research by this professor-researcher at the Université de Sherbrooke and the Centre de recherche du CHUS (CRCHUS – Research Centre) will focus on G-protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs) for pain management.

Philippe Sarret and his team will be working on developing a non-opioid analgesic that would act directly on the brain, require lower doses than morphine-based medication, and cause fewer side effects.

The funding, which will be allocated over a seven-year period, includes $2.1M from the Canadian Institutes of Health Research, and $6.8M from the Canada Foundation for Innovation, the latter for acquiring state-of-the-art equipment that will be made available to all researchers at the CRCHUS and the Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences at the Université de Sherbrooke.

20% of Canadians live with chronic pain (arthritis, migraines, fibromyalgia, back pain, etc.). In many cases, the analgesics currently on the market do not completely relieve pain, and produce many side effects.

Source and photo credits: CRCHUS