Currently available drugs to treat severe pain are mu-opioid receptor ligands (e.g., morphine, fentanyl) that are limited by adverse effects such as sedation, cognitive impairment, apnoea, constipation, and addiction. Our goal is to develop new painkillers devoid of untoward side effects by using mathematical modelling, and to examine them in vitro and in vivo in models of pathological pain (Stein. Annu Rev Med 2016; Spahn, Del Vecchio et al., Science 2017). Prototype substances are currently being validated for drug development.
Group members involved: Christoph Stein, M. Özgür Celik, Fatih Yergöz, Viola Seitz, Dominika Labuz, Antonio Rodriguez-Gaztelumendi, Giovanna Del Vecchio, Julia Temp, Michael Kloner, Sandeep Dembla, Johanna Meyer