Navega Therapeutics

Around 1.5 billion people around the world suffer from chronic pain, with more than 100 million in the US alone. Conventional treatment for chronic pain consists mostly of opioid narcotics. However, opioids have failed us as the United States is currently undergoing an opioid epidemic. Sadly, over 120 Americans die each day of an opioid overdose. We have developed a patented, non-permanent gene therapy to target pain that is non-addictive, highly specific and long-lasting. So how does this work? We were inspired by nature: there are humans that have a mutation in their genome that feel no pain whatsoever. We have imitated this process by utilizing a novel gene therapy to target pain in a non-permanent way. In our proof of concept, we have demonstrated that the mice that received our therapy have an increased pain tolerance and lower pain levels. Importantly, mice are not numb and can continue feeling mechanical stimulation, such as touch. We believe that patients should not have to decide whether they live a life with pain, or one with the risk of addiction.