CHAPTER 11: Enabling Next-Generation Pain Therapeutics through Precision Medicine

Precision medicine entails developing and selecting the right drug for a defined patient population. In this chapter, we discuss the potential impact of precision medicine approaches for the development of pain therapeutics. We describe the value of generating confidence in rationale using human data to overcome some of the shortfalls of preclinical data. In order for precision medicine to have an impact in the pain field in the near future, it is imperative that the human molecular mechanisms underlying painful disorders are fully dissected. For the purposes of this chapter we have focused on how this can be achieved through the use of accessible continuously developing genomics technologies. The genetic and epigenetic underpinnings of common complex pain phenotypes are largely still to be uncovered; however, in building our understanding of genetic predisposition to disease, novel therapeutic target identification and classification of painful disorders, this will dramatically enable patient stratification for research and clinical trial design. Precision medicine approaches will complement and expand rather than replace traditional approaches.