To introduce 2 new NIH HEAL (Helping to End Addiction Long-term) Initiative programs within NINDS focused on accelerating the discovery and development of non-addictive pain therapeutics

Launched in April 2018, the HEAL Initiative has developed trans-agency, multi-institute programs on improving prevention and treatment of opioid misuse/addiction and enhancing pain management. National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) programs are directed at understanding, preventing, and treating addiction. NINDS programs focus on understanding pain mechanisms and developing novel, effective, non-addictive treatments for pain.

NINDS is charged with identifying, developing, and testing non-addictive pharmacologic and non-pharmacologic therapeutics for pain. To meet this challenging goal, NINDS, together with other NIH Institutes, has established programs to enhance understanding of pain, acute-to-chronic pain transition, pain prevention, and treatment that also span the discovery process from drug discovery/device development, target validation, and preclinical screening  through early phase clinical trials, effectiveness research and pragmatic/implementation studies. 

This presentation describes two NINDS HEAL programs: the Preclinical Screening Platform for Pain (PSPP) and the Early Phase Pain Investigation Clinical Network (EPPIC-Net). PSPP provides for identification and profiling of non-addictive/non-opioid pain candidates in the pre-clinical domain. EPPIC-Net conducts cutting-edge early phase clinical trials of novel therapeutic candidates targeted to specific pain conditions of high unmet need. These programs can evaluate new as well as repurposed small molecules, biologics, natural products and devices.  Partners from industry/academia are invited to apply and submit therapeutic “assets” to these programs.

Two new NINDS programs are now available to accelerate and enhance preclinical development and clinical testing of novel, non-addictive pain therapies.  Both are now open to applications from academic and industry researchers.