New opioid drugs
Creating powerful new painkillers is a constant battle against side-effects – particularly addictions. James Mitchell Crow reports
It’s easy to make a strong painkiller – morphine has been around since 1804 – but much harder to make one that doesn’t from nasty side-effects. For opiates like morphine, heroin, fentanyl and oxycodone, these effects include addiction, constipation and respiratory depression. By studying the mu-opioid receptor, the protein at the heart of opioid pain-relief, scientists think they may found an answer.