Australian scientists have created the first "orally active” pain killer from the saliva
of the sea snail that could potentially revolutionize the treatment of nerve related chronic pain.
The spit of the sluggish creature has a deadly dose of peptide toxins which it injects into its prey to entrap it with its needle-like teeth.
Lead researcher, David J. Craik of the Institute for Molecular Bioscience at the University of Queensland stated, “For years people have been saying that peptides make fantastic drug leads because they’re very potent.
“The problem is that they’re generally regarded as poor drugs because they’re not stable and they’re not orally available, so the pharmaceutical industry has kind of shied away from peptides in the past.”
Peptides for pain management
Medical researchers have known for some time that peptides would be effective in pain management because of their potency.
Though, scientists have tried to turn them into pain relievers the unstable nature of peptides creates problems in administering such drugs.
A synthetic version of the chemical is already in use, but it needs to be implanted by a pump surgically into the spinal cord which makes it an invasive and expensive treatment.
To eliminate this problem the researchers re-engineered the molecule so that it could be taken in oral form.
Experiment on rats shows promise
In order to assess the safety and efficacy of the new drug the researchers tested it on rodents with neuropathic pain.
Using a standard test – how much pressure the rat could withstand before withdrawing its paw, the researchers noted that a single oral dose dramatically reduced pain.
They also found that compared with gabapentin, which is the most popular drug to treat neuropathic pain, the new pill was 100 times more potent.
Experts theorize that since peptides are extremely powerful only very small doses are needed which cuts the risk of side effects.
Craik and his team have applied for approval from the US Food and Drug Administration for a trial in humans.
Craik stated, “The most challenging aspect has been just raising the money to get it commercialized. Pharmaceutical companies are always a little nervous about peptides.
"We need more success stories so that they’ll see peptides not only as fantastic leads but also as potential drugs.”
An article on this topic is published in the current issue of Chemical and Engineering News (C&EN), American Chemical Society's weekly news magazine.
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