Biomarkers for Assessing Analgesics

Drug discovery is slow and expensive. Self-report of analgesic efficacy is subjective and cannot be used to assess pain responses in pre- and non-verbal populations such as infants or in populations with a reduced functional capacity (i.e. as a consequence of pathology, or medical intervention such as general anesthesia. Assessment of analgesics, or potential analgesics, using biomarkers may improve drug discovery and dose finding and enable better treatment for both acute and chronic pain. Moreover, biomarkers of drug action may be further developed to provide individualized treatment options. However, identification of sensitive and specific biomarkers is key for this approach to be a success. A consensus on which biomarkers to use, how to identify novel biomarkers, and how to assess the effectiveness of using these biomarkers in trials of analgesics is needed.



This Research Topic will focus on our current understanding of biomarkers for the assessment of analgesics and discuss approaches to move forward in this area. We will particularly focus on methodological approaches for analgesic discovery and the identification of biomarkers, including limitations of our current understanding. We aim to include different populations (such as infants and adults) and different types of pain (acute versus chronic) to identify the challenges in the field and the best ways to move forward.



This research topic aims to collect together our current understanding of biomarkers for the assessment of analgesics and key questions that need to be addressed to move this field forward, with a particular focus on methodological advances. We welcome articles across the broad range of techniques used to address this question, from translational animal studies to human clinical and pre-clinical studies. We invite reviews of the literature, opinion articles and research investigations advancing the field. We particularly encourage articles from early career researchers.