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More than 30 per cent of Canadians suffer from chronic pain, for which opioids are currently the only effective treatment. However, there is hope on the horizon thanks to some innovative research by Dr. Ketul Patel, a postdoctoral researcher in the, acknowledges outstanding contributions to Canadian research and innovation. Dr. Patel was recognized with the award in late 2023 in recognition of his work towards finding a novel, non-addictive treatment for chronic pain.
The current issue with prescribing opioids for chronic pain is that patients can build up a drug dependency and drug tolerance to opioids, according to Dr. Patel. “It’s kind of scary because once they stop the medication, if they want to start again, then they need a higher dose of the opioids.” The small molecule that Dr. Patel has successfully identified targets a newly discovered pain relief pathway, which mitigates pain without the negative side effects associated with opioids. Currently, Dr. Patel is working in collaboration with Calgary-based biopharmaceutical companyto gather more toxicology data in the development of this drug. Zymedyne will assist Dr.