PainVox

A Pain Radiopharmaceutical Breakthrough

Precision Pain Care through Objective Localization and Quantification of Pain Biomarkers

Pain Biomarker Molecular Imaging to Enable Precision Treatment

Chronic pain remains an area of substantial unmet medical need, affecting millions yet lacking effective diagnostic and therapeutic solutions. A major advance in this space has the potential to profoundly improve care and outcomes for countless patients suffering from chronic pain syndromes.

PainVox believes its innovative PET radiotracer technology may represent such a breakthrough. Preclinical work suggest this tracer can locate occult pain generators across a variety of conditions, providing actionable insights to aid planning and guide targeted treatment.

In over one hundred difficult-to-treat cases, PainVox's tracer PV-1 aided in redirecting therapeutic interventions and improving efficacy. It has demonstrated safety in humans, with no serious adverse events observed. PV-1 also reduced costs by facilitating more precise and effective care.

By illuminating the underlying source of pain, this technology promises to transition the field from reliance on short-term palliative medications and hit-or-miss procedures to curative solutions that address specific pathological pain drivers. PainVox looks forward to generating robust clinical data that convince healthcare providers to incorporate this paradigm-changing precision diagnostic into standard chronic pain care pathways. Precision targeting of root causes of pain has the potential to alleviate suffering for patients who have tried every other option, improving quality of life as well as clinical and financial outcomes.

A tool to see tissues generating chronic pain

The source of chronic pain is invisible. We have a tracer that allows the source of chronic pain to be visible. Once you identify the source of chronic pain, it can be treated successfully.

Pain is a molecular functional process, not a structural process. X-ray, CT, MRI, and ultrasound are great for structures, but for pain, PET imaging is best.

Positron emission tomography (PET) is a technique that produces a three-dimensional image of functional processes in the body.

Case Study

  • Right ankle with increased uptake at subtalar joint

  • Left ankle for reference

Diffuse Pain for Decades

Middle-aged male with chronic 5/10 hip-leg-foot pain and limping for 15 years, saw many specialists, got multiple MRIs and shots, and spent months in PT with no relief. Eventually got a PainVox scan. The scan found the cause of his pain in an unexpected area - the subtalar joint.

Patient Mr. S

“The pain from my hip to foot finally had a source location. Knowing that meant I could brace and manage my ankle better and take directed steps to address it from steriods shots there or surgery. Initially I was surprised when they told me the pain’s location because I didn't report ankle pain. Then I realized that I had had a childhood injury there that for decades I've been compensating for."

Case Study

Before Surgery:

  • Surgeon out of options for Patient with 10/10 pain.

  • PV-1 detects synovitis and fibrosis. 

After Surgery:

  • Synovectomy and fibrosis removal visualized. 

  • Patient reports complete pain relief & return to normal activity.

Tremendous Unmet Need

The current standard of care for diagnosing pain (MRI, x-rays, CT and ultrasound, EMG) has low sensitivity and poor accuracy, the extent of which leads to mismanagement of pain patients: misguided interventions, imprecise or unnecessary surgeries, or systemic medication when a cure was otherwise available.

Pinpointing Pain Generating Tissues

PainVox will enable accurate detection of the molecular underpinnings of pain through the use of novel PET tracers designed to specifically pinpoint pro-nociceptive pathology by binding to Sigma-1 Receptors.