10/10/2013

Florence, October 10th 2013. As the field of pain has evolved significantly in Europe over the years, pain research is more relevant than ever: Every fifth adult citizen in Europe suffers from persistent or chronic pain, so pain has become a major health problem in Europe. In line with the thought that pain research is getting more and more important, the EFIC-Grünenthal Grant (E-G-G) gave young scientists support and a platform in the course of the 8th EFIC® Congress in Florence, Italy. One day after the awarding of the seven winners of an E-G-G 2012 on occasion of the congress opening ceremony, former winners of an E-G-G presented the progress and development of their research projects at the EFIC® symposium “New Findings in Clinical Pain Research”.

The E-G-G aims to fund research projects that will become stepping stones toward a better understanding of pain and how to treat patients in the future. The award supports young scientists in carrying out innovative and exploratory clinical pain research projects. The European Pain Federation EFIC® and the pharmaceutical company Grünenthal, who are both sponsors, regard the sustainability of the winning projects as one of the priorities. Therefore the symposium at the EFIC® Congress is an essential element to call attention to these young scientists’ projects and show the importance of disseminating and honoring their research results. Additionally, the symposium serves as a platform for the young researchers to express their thoughts and visions and extend their network.

The presented and discussed research projects at the EFIC® symposium 2013 were:

• “NGF sensitizes silent nociceptors in human skin – results from a microneurography study” clarified by Dr Barbara Namer, Germany, winner of the E-G-G 2010
• “Characterisation of Kv7 sub-types in gastrointestinal pain”, Dr Madusha Peiris, United Kingdom, winner of the E-G-G 2010
• “Genetics of acute pain - still a long way to go” by Asst Prof Ozren Polašek, Croatia, winner of the E-G-G 2010
• “Pain Sensory Profiles in Diabetic Peripheral Neuropathic Pain”, presented by Dr Stefano Tamburin, Italy, winner of the E-G-G 2010

Prof Thomas Graven-Nielsen, from the University of Aalborg, Denmark and winner of an E-G-G in 2007, gave insights in experimental human studies by holding the guest speech “Referred pain – what have we gained from the experimental human studies?” These topics show how innovative and ambitious the awarded projects were.

“With the 20th Anniversary motto ’20 Years of Building Bridges’ this year’s congress also looks ahead and highlights what the near future will bring for pain medicine and for our patients. The progress and results of the presented research projects confirm the importance to enable young researchers to translate an idea into practice. With these pain research projects we are able to support the progress on our way to provide millions of people relief from their suffering of pain”, said Professor Hans-Georg Kress, the current President of the European Pain Federation EFIC®.

“Research requires more than just good ideas. It requires money to implement your projects”, Dr Stefano Tamburin, one of the recipients of the grant in 2010, explained when asked about the importance of the grant. “The E-G-G was ideal for the implementation of my projects, especially, because everything was very uncomplicated. My project was accepted without any limitations, and I could fully devote myself to my research.”

Interested young scientists can apply for the E-G-G 2014 from January 2014.

More information: www.e-g-g.info

 About the European Pain Federation EFIC®

With headquarters in Diegem/Brussels, the European Pain Federation EFIC® is a multidisciplinary professional organization in the field of pain research and medicine, consisting of 36 European chapters, which are the IASP® accredited official National Pain Societies in each country. EFIC’s constituent chapters therefore represent 36 European countries and close to 20,000 physicians, basic researchers, nurses, physiotherapists, psychologists and other healthcare professionals across Europe, who are involved in pain management and pain research.

For more information, please visit www.efic.org.

About Grünenthal

The Grünenthal Group is an independent, family-owned, international research-based pharmaceutical company with headquarters in Aachen, Germany. Building on its unique position in pain treatment, its objective is to become the most patient-centric company and thus to be a leader in therapy innovation. Grünenthal is one of the last five remaining research-oriented pharmaceutical companies in Germany which sustainably invests in research and development. Research and development costs amounted to about 26 percent of revenues in 2012. Grünenthal’s research and development strategy concentrates on selected fields of therapy and state-of-the-art technologies. We are intensely focused on discovering new ways to treat pain better and more effectively, with fewer side-effects than current therapies. Altogether, the Grünenthal Group has affiliates in 26 countries worldwide. Grünenthal products are sold in more than 155 countries. Today, approx. 4,400 employees are working for the Grünenthal Group worldwide. In 2012, Grünenthal achieved revenues of € 973 million.

For more information: www.grunenthal.com. 

 Contacts:

Grünenthal Group
Frank Schönrock
Vice President Public Engagement
Phone: +49 241 569-1568
Fax: +49 241 569 3539
Email: frank.schoenrock@grunenthal.com

EFIC®
Christel Geevels
European Federation of IASP® Chapters
Phone: +32 2 251 55 10
Fax: +32 2 251 48 10
Email: secretary@efic.org
www.efic.org

Media Contacts Grünenthal GmbH
Ariane Bleich
Communication Manager
Phone: +49 241 569 3475
Fax: +49 241 569 3539
Email: ariane.bleich@grunenthal.com

Project coordinator
Annika Erbe
Projektmanagement
Phone: +49 174 8806313
Email: annika.erbe@hotmail.de

Current press materials are available on request

About Grünenthal
The Grünenthal Group is an independent, family-owned, international research-based pharmaceutical company headquartered in Aachen, Germany. Building on its unique position in pain treatment, its objective is to become the most patient-centric company and thus to be a leader in therapy innovation.

Grünenthal is one of the last five remaining research-oriented pharmaceutical companies with headquarters in Germany which sustainably invests in research and development. Research and development costs amounted to about 26 percent of revenues in 2012. Grünenthal’s research and development strategy concentrates on selected fields of therapy and state-of-the-art technologies. We are intensely focused on discovering new ways to treat pain better and more effectively, with fewer side-effects than current therapies.

Altogether, the Grünenthal Group has affiliates in 26 countries worldwide. Grünenthal products are sold in more than 155 countries. Today, approx. 4,400 employees are working for the Grünenthal Group worldwide. In 2012, Grünenthal achieved revenues of €973 mn.

More information: www.grunenthal.com.