Combination Drug Therapy for the Management of Chronic Neuropathic Pain

Abstract

Chronic neuropathic pain (NP) is an increasingly prevalent disease and leading cause of disability which is challenging to treat. Several distinct classes of drugs are currently used for the treatment of chronic NP, but each drug targets only narrow components of the underlying pathophysiological mechanisms, bears limited efficacy, and comes with dose-limiting side effects. Multimodal therapies have been increasingly proposed as potential therapeutic approaches to target the multiple mechanisms underlying nociceptive transmission and modulation. However, while preclinical studies with combination therapies showed promise to improve efficacy over monotherapy, clinical trial data on their efficacy in specific populations are lacking and increased risk for adverse effects should be carefully considered. Drug-drug co-crystallization has emerged as an innovative pharmacological approach which can combine two or more different active pharmaceutical ingredients in a single crystal, optimizing pharmacokinetic and physicochemical characteristics of the native molecules, thus potentially capitalizing on the synergistic efficacy between classes of drugs while simplifying adherence and minimizing the risk of side effects by reducing the doses. In this work, we review the current pharmacological options for the treatment of chronic NP, focusing on combination therapies and their ongoing developing programs and highlighting the potential of co-crystals as novel approaches to chronic NP management.

Keywords: analgesia; chronic pain; co-crystal; combination pharmacotherapy.

Figure 1

Potential advantages of co-crystals in the treatment of chronic NP. Drug-drug co-crystals can convey distinct advantages over combination therapy regimens including simplified adherence, optimal bioavailability and blood–brain barrier penetration, lower doses, improved tolerability, improved solubility, and synergistic improvements in analgesic efficacy. API, active pharmaceutical ingredient.