Novel targets of current analgesic drug development

The development of new pharmaceutical agents for the treatment of pain seems at first like an ideal target for pharmaceutical companies. There is an enormous unmet need with a vast potential market. For many years, opioids and NSAIDs have remained the mainstay treatments in chronic pain, and while the advent of antiepileptic drugs and antidepressant medications into the indication arena for chronic and neuropathic pain has been helpful, it is far from adequate to meet the demands for controlling both acute and chronic pain. Hence, the pursuit of new novel medications for pain seems a rational action, but further insight shows how difficult the task truly is, not to mention the financial risks of such innovation.