Caterpillars may be Responsible for the Replacement of Opioids in the Future.

A startup company in UC Davis finds a potential opioid alternative

Researchers at EicOsis, a small privately owned company focusing on pain medication development, found a new inhibitor, EC5026, which could possibly be utilized as a non-addictive opioid alternative.

Currently, opioids are heavily regulated by the government because of their addictive properties. In fact, certain specific patient groups, such as C-section patients, are no longer allowed to have opioids to relieve their pain after surgery. 

Because of the addictive nature of opioids, the demand for an alternative pain medication rises daily. According to Dr. Cindy McReynolds, the CEO of EicOsis, “No new pain drugs [have been] developed in the past 20 years.” 

The lack of development in pain medications could possibly be accredited to the risks involved in investing in pain medication. Based on an article published in the Journal of Medicinal Chemistry, which attributes Dr. Cindy McReynolds, “[there is a] reluctance of larger pharmaceutical companies to enter the [pain medication] field.”

With larger pharmaceutical companies steering clear of opioid alternatives, smaller companies like EicOsis are left to find a solution with limited funding. Even so, with limited resources and funding, EicOsis has found favorable results in their initial testing of EC5026.

Unlike opioids which shutdown certain biological pathways in your body, EC5026 enhances the existing pathways in your body. EC5026 specifically inhibits the soluble epoxide hydrolase enzyme (sEH).

In essence, sEH is a protein that speeds up the “conversion of anti-inflammatory, antihypertensive, and analgesic chemical mediators” into other substances that are less desirable in patients who are in severe pain (Hammock). By inhibiting the sEH enzyme, EC5026 can make the body retain particular analgesic agents and use them to relieve the pain the patient feels. 

Also unlike opioids, according to Dr. Cindy McReynolds, “there is [no possibility] of developing a tolerance to EC5026 or getting addicted to EC5026 because [EC5026 does not have any] addictive properties.” In addition to this, EC5026 is speculated to be relatively inexpensive while having no clinically significant side effects.

With such solid findings backing the efficacy of EC5026, many would be surprised to learn that  EC5026 was originally intended to be a pesticide for caterpillars. 

EicOsis created a drug that halted metamorphosis in caterpillars and stumbled across EC5026. Although the caterpillars could not metamorphosize, the researchers observed that the caterpillars continued to grow in size. 

The additional growth in the caterpillars caused the researchers to wonder if this response was conserved in other animals. Sure enough, in other trials including horse and mice, the growth was conserved and EC5026 turned out to be a candidate for solving neuropathic pain in humans as well. 

Even though the caterpillars that influenced the development of EC5026 were not able to become butterflies, one could argue they could metamorphosize into something far greater in the future: pain relief for millions.

Bibliography

1. Hammock, Bruce, et al. “Movement to the Clinic of Soluble Epoxide Hydrolase Inhibitor EC5026 as an Analgesic for Neuropathic Pain and for Use as a Nonaddictive Opioid Alternative.” Journal of Medicinal Chemistry, 2021. DOI.10.1021/acs.jmedchem.0c01886.

2. McReynolds, Cindy. In-person class interview. 8 May 2024.