Discovery of P2Y14 antagonists for the treatment of osteoarthritic pain

The number of people suffering from osteoarthritis and other joint diseases is increasing dramatically and presenting a major economic burden for the UK and other nations. This project aims to exploit novel research results that have identified a new target, called P2Y14, that is present on the surface of immune cells, which are thought to play a role in the chronic pain experienced by patients with osteoarthritis and other forms of chronic pain. Unfortunately, many modern medicines for the treatment of arthritis are biological therapeutics that have to be injected but, by designing a small molecule drug to the new target, researchers hope to be able to design a similarly effective medicine that can be taken by mouth. This project sponsors the research required to discover a drug to the target and prepare it for testing in human clinical trials.