New Drugs in Development
Promising treatments for CP/CPPS on the horizon are:
- Milnacipran,
a norepinephrine serotonin reuptake inhibitor (NSRI) being
developed for the treatment of fibromyalgia syndrome and other
chronic pain disorders. See Cypress Bioscience website.
- Memantine,
an NMDA
antagonist (the class of drugs useful in connection with neuropathic
pain), which has potential in the treatment of chronic pain, should
be on the market very soon for the treatment of Alzheimer's disease.
- HCT-1026
(Nicox), a novel anti-inflammatory agent in clinical trials
for overactive bladder. Visit the Nicox website.
- MK-869
(Merck), an NK-1 receptor antagonist in clinical trials for
chemotherapy-induced emesis and depression. MK-869 may inhibit
neurogenic inflammation by blocking the action of Substance P.
- ReN1820
- A soluble NGF receptor fragment developed by Reneuron, which
is nearing the clinical phase of development.
- PRS
211,058 - A CB2 receptor agonist from Pharmos
in pre-clinical development. CB2 agonists have broad therapeutic
potential in multiple inflammatory and painful conditions.
- Dexanabinol
- Another drug from Pharmos, Dexanabinol is a non-psychoactive
cannabinoid with potent analgesic, anti-inflammatory, and anti-oxidant
effects in phase III trials for traumatic brain injury.
- Also worth mentioning is a family of small molecule VR1 receptor antagonists in early development by Neurogen.
Of course, most of these drugs are not being developed specifically for CPPS, but once they're available for general use (within the next 5-10 years in most cases) physicians may begin prescribing them off-label for prostatitis patients. Ideally, the basic science work necessary to validate the therapeutic potential of these agents will be completed by that time.