Non-opioid tested in mice and monkeys might ease opioid crisis

Researchers in Japan have tested a new drug that provides powerful pain relief in mice and monkeys, without the dangers of opioids.  

Opioid painkillers such as morphine and oxycodone are very effective, but have a high addiction potential, also leading to a decrease in efficacy with extended use. This has driven the opioid crisis, particularly in the United States, where safer alternatives are urgently needed. 

Scientists at Kyoto University have now identified a compound, called ADRIANA, that targets a different biological pathway than opioids to achieve pain relief.  In experiments in mice, ADRIANA relieved intense pain caused by burns, surgery and cancer. It worked as well as morphine but, unlike opioids, its effects did not fade with repeated use, and the mice did not show signs of dependence. 

The drug gave strong pain relief in thermal pain tests in non-human primates, while monitoring showed no major side effects on the heart or circulation in cynomolgus monkeys.  

Crucially, unlike with codeine - an opioid similar to morphine - rhesus monkeys did not seek the drug and did not self-administer ADRIANA, showing that the drug does not trigger addictive behaviour. 

"We aim to evaluate the analgesic effects of ADRIANA across various types of pain and ultimately make this treatment accessible to a broader population of patients suffering from chronic pain," said Hasatoshi Hagiwara, senior author of the study published in PNAS. 

ADRIANA is already being assessed in humans in a phase I clinical trial in Japan and is now being prepared for a phase II clinical trial in the United States.