Glycosylated endomorphin pain medicines with lower addiction risk
Official title: Development of Glycosylated Endomorphin Analogs with Low Abuse Liability for Treatment of Pain.
Funded at Southeast Louisiana Veterans Health Care · NIH-11264884 · Data updated 2026-11-12
Researchers are developing new endomorphin-based pain medicines designed to relieve moderate to severe and chronic pain while lowering the risk of addiction and dangerous breathing problems.
Quick facts
| Grant type | NIH-funded research |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | Southeast Louisiana Veterans Health Care NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (New Orleans, United States) |
| Project start | January 1, 2024 |
| Project end | December 31, 2027 |
| Funding year | 2026 |
| NIH project number | 5I01BX006167-03 |
| Project ID | NIH-11264884 on NIH RePORTER |
Who could benefit from this research
✓Could help
Ideal future participants would be people with moderate to severe acute or chronic pain seeking safer alternatives to current opioid treatments and willing to join clinical trials when they begin.
✕Less likely to help
People whose pain does not respond to opioid-type drugs or who need immediate pain treatment may not benefit from this preclinical research in the near term.
What this research studies
The team is making modified versions of an opioid-like molecule called endomorphin and attaching sugar groups (glycosylation) to help the drugs reach the brain more effectively. They will pick three promising compounds and test them in animal models to see if they relieve several types of pain without causing rewarding effects linked to addiction. The work includes experiments to compare tolerance and respiratory depression against commonly used opioids and to measure how the compounds are absorbed, distributed, metabolized, and cleared from the body. Those pharmacokinetic results will guide planning for future human testing if the compounds look safe and effective in preclinical tests.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, these compounds could provide effective pain relief with much lower risk of addiction, tolerance, and life-threatening breathing suppression than current opioids.
How similar studies have gone: Preclinical work on endomorphin analogs has shown promising pain relief in animal models, and this project builds on early positive results while still needing human testing.
Where this research is happening
-
Southeast Louisiana Veterans Health Care
New Orleans, United States Active
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Zadina, James E — Southeast Louisiana Veterans Health Care
- Study coordinator: Zadina, James E
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.