"Part of this search begins in the Algarve, famous for its stunning coastline. It's in this region that Portuguese biotech company, Sea4Us, is working on a non-opioid analgesic, a safe and effective remedy for chronic pain.
Why pain relief?
Pedro Lima is a neurophysiologist, marine biologist and co-founder of Sea4Us. He tells us that the need for non-opioid analgesics is enormous, "one out of five of us has suffered from some kind of chronic pain". His dream is to find in the sea something that can help these people.
Sea4Us was co-founded in 2013 and works on EU-supported projects, collecting and studying simple marine organisms like sponges and other invertebrates. Scientists from Sea4Us spend their time between laboratories and the depths of the sea, making regular dives for new samples.
Why might marine invertebrates contain the molecules for pain relief?
Many marine invertebrates are stuck in the rock under the sea and they can't move. Lima tells us that this means they've developed a venom that has "compounds that block the neuroactive signal related to pain". This is one area of research into simple marine organisms, but they can also be used for a wide variety of purposes, not just healthcare and pharmaceuticals."
https://www.euronews.com/green/2021/03/30/the-ocean-a-source-of-treatment-for-some-of-the-world-s-worst-diseases
Why pain relief?
Pedro Lima is a neurophysiologist, marine biologist and co-founder of Sea4Us. He tells us that the need for non-opioid analgesics is enormous, "one out of five of us has suffered from some kind of chronic pain". His dream is to find in the sea something that can help these people.
Sea4Us was co-founded in 2013 and works on EU-supported projects, collecting and studying simple marine organisms like sponges and other invertebrates. Scientists from Sea4Us spend their time between laboratories and the depths of the sea, making regular dives for new samples.
Why might marine invertebrates contain the molecules for pain relief?
Many marine invertebrates are stuck in the rock under the sea and they can't move. Lima tells us that this means they've developed a venom that has "compounds that block the neuroactive signal related to pain". This is one area of research into simple marine organisms, but they can also be used for a wide variety of purposes, not just healthcare and pharmaceuticals."
https://www.euronews.com/green/2021/03/30/the-ocean-a-source-of-treatment-for-some-of-the-world-s-worst-diseases