Blood test to personalize treatment for painful diabetic neuropathy
Official title: Laboratory Developed Test (LDT) to Support Clinical Evaluation of a Drug for Painful Diabetic Neuropathy
Funded at Plumeria Therapeutics, INC. · NIH-11065310 · Data updated 2026-11-12
This project will create a blood test to find people with painful diabetic neuropathy who are most likely to respond to a new drug that targets a chemokine receptor.
Quick facts
| Grant type | Sbir 2 grant |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | Plumeria Therapeutics, INC. NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (Plainsboro, UNITED STATES) |
| Project start | September 20, 2021 |
| Project end | May 31, 2027 |
| Funding year | 2025 |
| Award (this year) | $1,500,000 |
| NIH project number | 2R44NS120617-02A1 |
| Project ID | NIH-11065310 on NIH RePORTER |
Who could benefit from this research
✓Could help
Ideal participants are people with painful diabetic neuropathy who have ongoing neuropathic pain, are willing to provide a blood sample, and may consider joining future clinical trials.
✕Less likely to help
People without diabetic neuropathy, whose pain is not neuropathic, or who are unwilling to provide blood samples are unlikely to benefit from this project.
What this research studies
You would give a blood sample so researchers can measure levels of a specific chemokine receptor gene linked to nerve pain. They will analyze stored blood samples and clinical data from earlier trials of a drug that blocks that receptor to see which genetic profiles corresponded with better responses. The team will develop and validate a laboratory-developed test (LDT) in the lab using those samples. The test could be used in future clinical trials to match people with painful diabetic neuropathy to the drug.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, the test could help match patients with painful diabetic neuropathy to a medication more likely to reduce their nerve pain.
How similar studies have gone: Previous clinical trials of the same receptor-blocking drug showed acceptable safety but lacked patient genetic selection, so using a biomarker to match patients is a relatively new but promising approach.
Where this research is happening
-
Plumeria Therapeutics, INC.
Plainsboro, United States Active
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Richardson, Thomas P — Plumeria Therapeutics, INC.
- Study coordinator: Richardson, Thomas P
Related research
Other NIH-funded projects on the same topics.
-
Non-invasive, microscopic biomarkers to detect CIPN in chemotherapy patients
This grant aims to develop a non-invasive imaging method to measure nerve changes in patients undergoing chemotherapy to better understand and monitor chemotherapy-induced peripheral neuropathy (CIPN).
-
Neonatal Fc receptor blockade by efgartigimod to help inflammatory nerve disease
Aims to test how blocking a specific antibody trafficking receptor with efgartigimod could improve nerve inflammation in a model of AIDP/GBS-type neuropathy.
-
Schwann cell aging and secretions linked to diabetic nerve damage
A research project looking at how aging nerve cells and their secretions may drive nerve damage in people with type 2 diabetes.
-
Diabetic bladder problems in diabetes mice show sex-specific nerve and inflammation roles
Aims to understand why bladder problems happen in diabetes, exploring how inflammation and nerves differ between male and female mice.
-
Prenyltransferase inhibitor as a new therapy for inflammatory neuropathy
A new drug candidate called FGTI-2734 is being studied to calm nerve inflammation in conditions like AIDP/Guillain-Barré syndrome, with the goal of protecting nerves and reducing symptoms.
-
KCTD11-related CMT neuropathy: uncovering how it damages nerves
We are studying a genetic form of Charcot–Marie–Tooth disease to understand what goes wrong in nerves and support future treatments.
About this research
- This is an active NIH-funded research project — typically early-stage science, not a clinical trial accepting patient enrollment.
- Some NIH-funded labs run parallel clinical studies or seek volunteers for related work. To check, contact the principal investigator or institution listed above.
- For full project details, budget, and progress reports, visit the official NIH RePORTER page.