Poor understanding is limiting innovation in pain drug development, says GBI Research

Limited understanding of pain pathophysiology continues to stand in the way of drug development, and patent applications for novel analgesics declined steadily between 2008 and 2012, says business intelligence provider GBI Research.

The latest GBI report showed that the number of patent applications fell from 4,970 in 2008 to 3,492 in 2012, and that these were dominated by big companies such as Sanofi (Euronext: SAN) and Novartis (NOVN: VX), which submitted 169 and 162 applications, respectively.

Innovation in this area is low, with the market mostly dominated by opioids and steroidal anti-inflammatories, with no novel products able to challenge efficacy in treating moderate to severe acute pain. Despite the significant unmet needs for more effective therapies in other pain subtypes, such as chronic and neuropathic pain, due to their rising prevalence, the factors underpinning these subtypes are complex and poorly understood.