101449Discovery of Ask1 inhibitors for the treatment of chronic neuropathic painClosedCollaborative R&DInnovate UKChronic neuropathic pain is a major economic burden for the UK and other nations, with many patients suffering inadequate pain relief and a reduced quality of life. Unfortunately current treatments are hampered by their side effects and differences in responses between patients, which leads to only a quarter of patients receiving meaningful relief. This project will exploit novel research that has identified a new approach to targeting a signalling pathway shown to be important in the sensitisation of nerves caused by nerve injury due to trauma, disease or treatments. It is expected that blockers of the enzyme Ask1 will become drugs that are more effective, safer, and can be used in combination with existing analgesics. This project sponsors the research required to turn the original findings into a drug and prepare it for testing in human clinical trials.