Our approach to pain R&D

Our approach to pain R&D

Grünenthal aims to create highly effective pain treatments for patients by using every available modality and technology. This solution-agnostic approach empowers our scientists to explore a wide range of modalities including biologics, peptides, small molecules, and cell and gene therapy. While agnostic regarding the concrete modality or technology, we can cover every step in the development of an innovative medicine.

We aim to achieve progress towards life-changing therapeutic solutions by striving for excellence at every stage in the research and development process – from target identification through to commercialisation. We continuously enhance our own research capabilities, while also exploring opportunities to collaborate with external partners. Our concise therapeutic area strategy is targeting solutions for peripheral neuropathic pain, chronic post-surgical pain, chronic low back pain, and osteoarthritis.

“We follow a holistic and solution-agnostic approach to deliver highly effective pain treatments, building our programmes on a firm foundation of human pathophysiology and solid human target validation.”

Gillian Burgess,

Head of Research & CSO ad interim

Strengthening our in-house capabilities

We are passionate about deepening our disease understanding. In this spirit, we use our scientific expertise to design and conduct studies that open up profound new insights into the pathophysiology of human pain. Our Translational Science team then builds on this deeper understanding by developing model systems and biomarkers that enable the best possible translation from preclinical experiments to innovative pain treatments for patients – also known as ‘from bench to bedside’.

Our Drug Development team delivers efficient and robust manufacturing processes, as well as high-quality clinical development strategies that lead to innovative medicines. The team achieves this by working together with colleagues from across our company – and also with external partners. They understand the medical and pharmaceutical science behind new compounds, and can draw on expertise that covers everything from clinical science through to data science, development operations and advanced analytics, as well as Chemistry, Manufacturing and Controls (CMC).

Collaborating with innovative partners

We reinforce our internal innovation capabilities by entering long-term strategic partnerships for R&D. Our company is always seeking to strengthen and expand its network with leading scientists and institutions around the world.

With our Innovation Hub, we have established a centre of excellence for pain research. It invites leading scientists who share our dedicated focus on addressing unmet medical needs in pain to team up with us and join forces to achieve our vision of a world free of pain. Our Innovation Hub features a team of outstanding scientists and medical doctors who are equipped to initiate and drive innovation projects independently from target identification through to clinical Proof of Concept, while also leveraging Grünenthal’s in-house R&D capabilities and collaborating with external partners.