Scientists at Duke University have developed a new experimental drug that may offer strong pain relief without the risks commonly associated with opioids. The drug, known as SBI-810, is still in early testing but has shown very promising results in laboratory studies using mice.
Opioid painkillers like morphine have long been used to treat both short-term and chronic pain. However, they come with serious side effects, including addiction, constipation, sedation, and the development of tolerance, which means people need higher doses over time to get the same relief.
This has led to a major public health crisis, with over 80,000 Americans dying from opioid overdoses each year. At the same time, about one-third of the U.S. population lives with chronic pain, highlighting the urgent need for safer treatment options.
SBI-810 represents a new kind of pain medicine. Unlike opioids, which affect many different pathways in the body, SBI-810 is more selective. It targets a specific brain receptor called neurotensin receptor 1. This receptor is found on nerve cells, especially in areas involved in sensing pain, such as the spinal cord and brain.
The Duke research team used a strategy called “biased agonism” to design SBI-810. This means the drug turns on only one specific pain-relief signal—called β-arrestin-2—while avoiding other signals that can cause dangerous side effects. By being more precise in how it works, SBI-810 offers pain relief without the risks of addiction, sedation, or memory problems.
In animal tests, SBI-810 relieved pain from several types of injuries, including surgical cuts, bone fractures, and nerve damage. The treated mice showed fewer signs of discomfort, like facial grimacing or guarding their injuries.
In some cases, SBI-810 worked better than commonly used drugs like gabapentin, which is often prescribed for nerve pain but can cause drowsiness and memory issues. It also performed better than oliceridine, a newer hospital-grade opioid, and did not cause tolerance even after repeated use.
One of the most exciting findings was that SBI-810 could make opioids more effective at lower doses when the two were used together. This could allow doctors to give patients smaller amounts of opioids, reducing the risk of side effects and addiction. Even on its own, however, SBI-810 showed strong pain-relieving effects.
Another advantage is that SBI-810 did not cause constipation, a common and uncomfortable side effect of opioids. This means the drug may be especially helpful for people who need ongoing pain treatment after surgery or those living with conditions like diabetic nerve pain.
While the drug has only been tested in animals so far, Duke researchers are planning to move toward human trials. They’ve already secured patents to protect their discovery and are hopeful that this compound could lead to a new class of safer pain medications.
In conclusion, SBI-810 shows great potential as a non-opioid pain reliever. It targets pain through a more focused pathway, avoiding many of the problems linked to traditional opioids.
The drug not only works well on its own but could also enhance the effect of opioids at lower doses. If future studies confirm its safety and effectiveness in people, SBI-810 could play a major role in changing how we treat pain—giving relief without the risk.
If you care about pain, please read studies about vitamin K deficiency linked to hip fractures in old people, and these vitamins could help reduce bone fracture risk.
For more health information, please see recent studies that Krill oil could improve muscle health in older people, and eating yogurt linked to lower frailty in older people.
The research findings can be found in Cell.
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