New Conus-derived alpha-conotoxin analgesics for the treatment of chronic pain: Structure, mode of action, delivery and disposition

This proposal aims to produce new, highly effective, safe, non-addictive analgesics. It is estimated that >1% of the western world's population suffer from neuropathic pain, a form of chronic pain. Natural peptides extracted from marine cone snails show great promise in this area but possess chemical features which disadvantage their unmodified use as drugs. We have developed novel chemistry to stabilise the chemical structure of these peptides to facilitate oral delivery, sustained activity and reduced side effects. This, coupled with an advanced understanding of their mechanism of action, will enable the design, synthesis and testing of novel conotoxin analogues in established pain models.