A small Farmington biotech is looking to scale up after securing a patent for a novel pain treatment using a derivative of ketamine.
MediSynergics, a company led by two former Pfizer drug researchers, operates out of a lab on the UConn Health campus as part of UConn’s Technology Incubation Program (TIP) program.
The new patented compound shows promise as an alternative to opioid medications, said MediSynergics CEO Dennis M. Godek.
“There’s a great need for new pain medications,” Godek said. “That’s the space that we’re working in… we’re trying to do our part.”
The new compound is also one of a group of derivatives discovered by the company that does not bind to the NMDA receptor in neurons, suggesting it may have fewer of the side effects that have limited ketamine’s use in treatment. The medication has worked well in mice and the company is seeking additional funding to expand testing, Godek said.
“We saw some really good activity with it — that’s one step,” Godek said. “We still have a lot more work to do.”
Godek and Chief Scientific Officer Harry R. Howard both worked in drug discovery at Pfizer before retiring to become consultants. After a few years, both decided they wanted to return to the lab and help find alternatives to highly addictive opioid painkillers, Godek said.
MediSynergics was founded 11 years ago and joined the TIP lab five year ago. The three-person company has since secured 11 patents and has found success working on derivatives of ketamine, a drug commonly used in anesthesia that is increasingly seen as promising treatment for depression, schizophrenia and chronic pain.
“We do think we have changed the pharmacology of ketamine,” Godek said. “The hardest part is to get funding and grow.”
