Big pharma and startups alike have put huge efforts over the years into finding effective and nonaddictive treatments for pain. For the most part, it’s been a slow-going slog.
Last week, however, the space got a long-awaited dose of positive news with Vertex Pharmaceuticals’ announcement that it received FDA approval for a non-opioid pill, Journavx, to treat acute pain. Vertex called it the first new class of pain medicine approved in more than 20 years.
As shares of Boston-based Vertex shot higher on the news, we thought it would be timely to take a look at investment in startups focused on pain management and treatment. Turns out there’s quite a bit of funding around this theme, and much of it is fairly recent.
To illustrate, we used Crunchbase data to curate a list of 17 companies that raised capital in roughly the past couple of years. Collectively, the group has pulled in over $1.8 billion to date.
An underfunded area?
While that’s a big number, funding actually looks rather paltry given the scope of the problem startups are working to address.
In the U.S. alone, more than 1 in 5 adults suffers from chronic pain, defined as pain that is experienced most days or every day for three months or more. New incidences of chronic pain far exceed that of other common chronic conditions such as diabetes and depression.
The limited treatment options for chronic pain have also led to a high reliance on opioid medications. While these can provide substantial relief, their widespread availability has also contributed to alarming increases in overdoses and addiction for much of this century.
Moreover, while treatments may be effective in dulling pain, progress has been slow in finding ways to eliminate it. Among Americans suffering from chronic pain in 2019, for instance, only about 10% recovered and were pain-free the following year.
Hoping startups can succeed
Among funded startups, several are working on root causes of pain, including some focus on how hypersensitivity contributes to heightened feelings of pain. There’s also a strong interest in finding nonaddictive methods to alleviate pain.
Some of the larger investments came last year, including several in the past few months. This includes:
- Fifteen-year-old SiteOne Therapeutics raised a $100 million Series C in late December led by Novo Holdings, eight years after closing its Series B. The South San Francisco based startup is developing sodium channel inhibitors to treat pain and sensory hyperexcitability disorder.
- Axonis Therapeutics, which is working on medicines targeting KCC2, the critical mediator of inhibition within the brain, secured $115 million in an oversubscribed October Series A. The Boston-based company is eyeing potential applications including treatment of chronic pain.
- Nalu Medical, based in Carlsbad, California, picked up an $85 million Series E last year, bringing total funding to date to more than $200 million. The company develops a small, implantable neurostimulation device that uses electrical impulses to interrupt pain signals before they get to the brain.
- Seven-year-old Latigo Biotherapeutics landed a $135 million Series A last February. The Thousand Oaks, California-based company aims to develop medicines to target pain at its source and provide quick relief without risk of addiction.
These efforts take time
While these efforts are promising, success stories like new drug approvals take a long time to unfold.
However, we can also measure progress in smaller steps, such as follow-on rounds, clinical trial progression and public market reception. By these metrics, pain treatment startups are forging ahead. Let’s hope they make it to the finish line.
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Illustration: Dom Guzman
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