SiteOne Therapeutics has been awarded a grant by U.S. Dept. of Defense in the effort to develop the company’s proprietary, highly selective small molecule NaV1.7 inhibitors for the treatment of acute and chronic pain. 

SiteOne Therapeutics co-founder and vice president of research, John Mulcahy, said, “The validation and confidence of officials of the U.S. Department of Defense is exceptionally welcome.  There is a critical need for non-opioid therapeutics that treat acute and chronic pain effectively, allowing for less reliance on opioids, and reducing the side effects and addiction potential associated with them.  We are committed to advancing our research and development programs focused on NaV1.7 and are inspired by the confidence of the many people and entities who support our approach.”

This comes after the January 2017 announcement by Stan Abel, chief executive officer and president of SiteOne Therapeutics, which revealed the closing of a research and development agreement with Amgen, which focused on combining SiteOne’s experienced drug discovery team and portfolio of novel NaV1.7 inhibitors with Amgen’s neuroscience capabilities.