Manny Bojorquez is an entrepreneur and co-founder of peaCURE, a company that markets products formulated on the basis of palmitoylethanolamide. Palmitoylethanolamide’s role as a potential replacement for opioids is of particular interest to Manny Bojorquez, as is how the compound can be used to help ameliorate the effects of the opioid epidemic.
Besides palmitoylethanolamide, there other pharmacological solutions that are being developed to replace opioids. This category of medications is referred to as bisphosphonates. Typically used to prevent bone loss, bisphosphonates have also shown success in the treatment of complex regional pain syndrome which is a neurological condition causing intense chronic pain.
Gene therapy is also being studied, especially the use of monoclonal antibodies. Research indicates that nerve growth factor plays a big role in the generation of a variety of pain states so considerable resources are being used to develop anti-NGF drugs. As anti-NGF agents, monoclonal antibodies can produce a significant reduction in pain for patients with osteoarthritis, and other chronic pains such as peripheral neuropathy.
