Around 20% of the world population suffers from chronic pain, and many people turn to opioids as their main source of relief.
Opioids can be efficient painkillers but come with considerable downsides. Side-effects like nausea, difficulties breathing or drowsiness have more short-term health implications, while addiction based around the high the drug induces can lead to serious risks, including overdose. There is an urgent need to find new pharmaceutical solutions for chronic pain and tackle the opioid crisis鈥昩etween 2016 and 2018, over 11,500 Canadians died from opioid use.
To address this, , a Canadian life sciences venture, partnered with , an early-stage venture capital fund, to launch in June 2020. This new company, based on breakthrough research by neuroscientist Dr. Philippe S茅gu茅la, aims to provide opioid-free drug therapies for pain relief.
鈥淲e all know somebody who suffers from chronic pain, whether it鈥檚 back pain, migraines or caused by a disease like cancer, but we have very few tools to treat this condition,鈥� explains Dr. S茅gu茅la, Chief Scientific Officer at Neurasic Therapeutics and a 平特五不中 professor. 鈥淭he social, economic and human cost of the opioid crisis is considerable.鈥�
Replacing opioids
Neurasic鈥檚 innovations build on S茅gu茅la鈥檚 scientific expertise鈥昲is lab at the Montreal Neurological Institute-Hospital (the Neuro) is renowned for its research on the cells and circuits involved in pain perception, known as ion channels.
Recent discoveries about the cellular and molecular mechanisms of pathological pain have led to new pharmaceutical strategies to address chronic pain. Neurasic鈥檚 drug therapy uses this research to target acid-sensing ion channels (ASICs), a part of a cell that helps detect injuries in the brain and other tissues. Early research indicates that blocking ASICs could offer relief for patients with chronic pain conditions, eliminating the need for opiate-based drugs.
Collaboration with NeuroSphere
Although Neurasic Therapeutics wasn鈥檛 the first company Dr. S茅gu茅la had created, he sought an advisor who was well-connected in the current Canadian start-up network to find investors and build partnerships.
Dr. S茅gu茅la contacted Marc Lussier, NeuroSphere鈥檚 former Entrepreneur-in-Residence, to help shape the Neurasic pitch into a business-oriented presentation aimed at investors. According to Dr. S茅gu茅la, NeuroSphere played a key role in the project鈥檚 early stages because it opened the door to collaborations with AmorChem and adMare, which both recognized his discovery鈥檚 potential.
In addition to help making these important connections, NeuroSphere invested $200,000 in the project through Healthy Brains, Healthy Lives (HBHL) and the Consortium Qu茅b茅cois sur la D茅couverte du M茅dicament (CQDM) SynergiQc program.
AdMare played a major role in advancing Dr. S茅gu茅la鈥檚 work by generating valuable intellectual property and by offering expertise in start-up management. The validation provided by this collaboration with adMare was also an important factor in AmorChem鈥檚 decision to invest in Neurasic.
Advice for future entrepreneurs
Dr. S茅gu茅la provided four key tips for entrepreneurs to keep in mind when launching a new venture:
- Follow the advice of people who are in the business and who know the critical steps to get investors, clients or partners interested in your work.
- The best way to know if your expertise can fit the needs of stakeholders is to know your market and identify your niche.
- Your innovation must respond to a real need and solve an actual problem. Coming up with an idea is not enough鈥昽ffer something concrete that people can use, test and improve.
- Know if there is an intellectual property value to be sought for your discovery, and if so, to protect it as quickly as possible. This makes finding investors much easier.
