Topical Concurrent Session 1A – Novel approaches for treating pain: From targets to circuits and beyond

Description

It is widely acknowledged that the successful clinical translation of therapeutics targeting the central nervous system is characterised by one of the highest rates of attrition of all drug discovery programs worldwide. This is particularly true for the treatment of pathological pain conditions: their neural substrates remains poorly understood, they remain difficult to reproduce and assess in pre-clinical models, and they are associated with multiple co-morbidities. There is an enormous unmet need for drugs to effectively treat pain with less adverse effects. The first steps in developing improved therapeutics include the identification and manipulation of novel targets in pain circuits and effective delivery of pain modulators. In this context, this session is timely, as it will bring together speakers that have used different approaches to specifically tackle these challenges. By encompassing examples of innovative approaches to understanding molecular targets for pain, control of cellular signalling within pain neural circuits and targeted delivery of therapeutics, this session will appeal to a broad range of pain researchers and clinicians.

At the end of the presentation, the attendee will have insight into the challenges and novel techniques currently being used in pain therapeutic discovery and development and knowledge of the exciting future of this field.

Speakers:
Dr Wendy Imlach, Monash University, VIC
Dr Nicholas Veldhuis, Monash Institute of Pharmaceutical Sciences, VIC
Dr Luke Grundy, University of Adelaide, SA