In recent years there have been very few breakthrough medicines for the treatment of chronic pain, with many of the current standard medicines dating back decades (if not centuries). The result of this is that there are still millions of patients across the world for whom there is no adequate medicine to treat their pain. The impact of pain is profound. Frequent sufferers are stopped from working, sleeping and socialising, with a common result of depression.
But, Pfizer's pain team is hopeful that new insights into the causes of pain, as well as how to actually 'measure' it, can help usher in a series of new medicines that will provide greater relief from the symptoms of pain, allowing patients to return to normal lives at work and at home.
The 'holy grail' for our researchers is what they call the 'magic bullet' for pain. This medicine would be effective against a variety of different types of pain, providing more effective and safer relief from symptoms than current medicines.
Conditions
Acute Pain
The sudden onset of pain that lasts for a short time.
Chronic Pain
Persistent pain, the cause of which is often unidentified.
Fibromyalgia
Primarily occurring in women, and characterized by widespread pain and tenderness in muscles and areas around joints, accompanied by fatigue.
Neuropathic Pain
Pain caused by nerve damage or damage to the nervous system. Diabetic neuropathy is pain caused by damage to the spine and nerves as a specific result of diabetes.
Osteoarthritic Pain
Pain caused by osteoarthritis.