Nocion pain program

Nocion Therapeutics is developing a program of small molecule, permanently charged sodium channel blockers (CSCBs) for the treatment of pain, which was acquired from Sanodyne Therapeutics in 2020. These molecules are designed to selectively inhibit multiple voltage-gated sodium channels, specifically Nav1.7, Nav1.8, and Nav1.9, within activated nociceptors. Unlike traditional local anesthetics, these charged molecules are large and polar, preventing them from crossing the lipid bilayer of healthy, resting neurons. Instead, they selectively enter pain-sensing neurons through large-pore ion channels (such as TRPV1 or P2X) that are opened during inflammation or injury. Once inside, they provide a targeted, long-lasting block of sodium channels from the intracellular side, effectively silencing pain signaling while avoiding the off-target effects on motor or non-pain sensory fibers typically associated with non-selective sodium channel blockers.

Other names

Sanodyne pain programNocion CSCB pain program