Amgen, Boston Children’s Hospital partner to find genes linked to pain disorders

Amgen (NSDQ:AMGN) announced today that it inked a one-year collaboration with Boston Children’s Hospital to study patients with pain syndromes in an effort to identify potential genetic targets.

The collaboration will combine Amgen’s work in genetic target identification and the division of pain medicine at Boston Children’s Hospital.

“Traditional approaches to analgesic drug discovery have been pretty disappointing during the past 20 years,” Dr. Charles Berde, chief of the division of pain medicine at Boston Children’s Hospital, said in prepared remarks.

“The most innovative biotech companies have realized that they need to pursue new directions for drug discovery. Patients with unusual patterns of increased or decreased pain responsiveness can offer important clues in this pursuit.”

The group is slated to study patients with erythromelalgia, paroxysmal extreme pain disorder, hereditary sensory and autonomic neuropathy, and with genetic disorders that diminish sensitivity to pain.

“Amgen is pleased to enter into this collaboration as it underscores our extensive investment and expertise in pursuing targets that have clear genetic support,” John Dunlop, Amgen’s VP of neuroscience research, added. “We look forward to working with Boston Children’s Hospital to explore novel pain targets that will potentially include new non-addictive approaches to treating pain in patients.”