Opioid Awareness..Taking it to the Street!

“Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has.” – Margaret Mead

The prevalence of opioid use is estimated to be between 26.4 million and 36.0 million individuals worldwide, with an estimated 2.1 million people in the United States suffering from substance use disorders related to prescription opioid pain relievers in 2012. Starting in the mid 1990s, when a new opioid painkiller – oxycodone – hit the market, the usage of opioids has spread across the globe epidemically. 

Despite opioids being promised to be safer and less addictive, fatalities have been more than exponentially increasing from that moment onward, to the extent that drug overdose is now the leading cause of death for US citizens under the age of 50. Although the number of opioids prescribed by doctors has slowed down over the past years, opioid addiction rates have not decreased. In turn, many opioid abusing individuals switch to novel opioid formulations, that are cheaper, stronger, and more accessible.  

In order for an effective treatment to be realized, it is important to gain more insight into the scientific background of opioid addiction, as well as opioid induced dependence and tolerance. 

Currently, opioid administration causes pain relief by acting on the opioid receptors (mu, kappa, & delta). Scientists have found, with continued use of opioids, dependence occurs. When the opioid is withdrawn or discontinued, the opioid dependent person experiences pain and flu-like symptoms. These symptoms make discontinuing from opioids very difficult. To treat opioid withdrawal, patients are converted to alternative opioids and slowly tapered over time.

Recently, scientists have discovered that opioids, not only provide pain relief by acting on the opioid receptors, but also act on glial cells in the brain. Activation of the glial cells has been shown to release new and different pain mediators, and to release dopamine (a neurotransmitter). The release of these new and different pain mediators by the glial cells are inflammation producing and could be the cause of opioid tolerance (when you require more opioid to provide the same level of initial pain relief). Also, the release of dopamine has been associated with neurochemical brain changes and drug seeking behavior. 

The Big-Brains at Sen-Jam Pharmaceutical are working on a product to attenuate these glial cell mediated inflammatory responses.

Sen-Jam believes that if we can attenuate the glial cells we can reduce tolerance and the drug seeking behavior associated with dependence.  

Help is on the way….

About Sen-Jam Pharmaceutical

Sen-Jam Pharmaceutical’s Mission is to Create Value by finding Novel Pharmaceutical Solutions for Large, Unmet Needs while Forging Global Sales, Distribution, and Licensing Agreements.

Sen-Jam's Exulta? product line is based on Opioid Free Pain Relief with GI Protection for Extended Use. Rx indications include the short term treatment of pain in patients with Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD) with or without IBD associated arthritis and opioid withdrawal, tolerance and dependence.

We recently won the Life Science Nation/RESI Innovation Challenge in NYC and will be attending the JP Morgan Healthcare/RESI Conference in San Francisco in January.

For more information, visit sen-jam.com or contact [email protected].