UCL spin-out Nanomerics awarded £1.2m

Published: 29-May-2012

To develop a peptide pill for pain relief


Nanomerics has won £1.2m in funding from the UK’s Technology Strategy Board (TSB) towards groundbreaking research aimed at developing a new form of pain relief.

Researchers at Nanomerics says their METDoloron peptide pill, based on peptides rather than opioids, avoids the serious side-effects of opioid-based drugs by targeting different receptors in the brain and uses an agent which is produced by the body itself to control pain. Peptides are molecules produced by the body, which can act as nature’s own ‘drugs’.

The peptide pill uses Nanomerics’ Molecular Envelope Technology (MET), to enable the peptides within it – usually broken down by the body in the gut if ingested orally – to be absorbed by the body and provide effective pain relief.

The award is part of a total £6.5m package given by the Technology Strategy Board and the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) to seven companies to develop new therapies and diagnostic technology that use nanotechnology.

The Nanomerics-led consortium comprises the UCL School of Pharmacy, AMTechnology and the University of Exeter.

The global market in pain medication is currently worth $50bn annually and the development of this new drug will address a vital unmet medical need for people who suffer chronic severe pain, much of which is inadequately controlled by opioid-based medication such as codeine and morphine.

Andreas Schatzlein, chief executive of Nanomerics, said the funding would enable the firm to push ahead with development of nano-enabled pharmaceuticals such as the Nanomerics’ Peptide Pill and clinically test drugs based on them in a few years’ time.

‘Supporting the commercialisation of cutting-edge science emanating from British universities is vital to maintain our lead in using nanotechnology to develop the global pharmaceutical products of tomorrow,’ he added.

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