FIRST APPROVED DRUG FOR FIBROMYALGIA LYRICA PAIN MEDICINE IS A SCIENTIFIC HOME RUN MAKES MILLIONS BUT LYRICA DISCOVERER CANT PARTY INVITE

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It's an interesting story. A medical scientist, Richard Silverman discovers the first medicine approved for fibromyalgia. Lyrica is used to treat pain and other applications as well. When the scientist who invented Lyrica asked to come to the launch party for Lyrica, Silverman says they told him no. A fascinating story about how Lyrica got discovered and developed appeared in the newspaper.





Lyrica aka pregabalin is an anticonvulsant drug used for neuropathic pain and as an adjunct therapy for partial seizures. It has also been found effective for generalized anxiety disorder. It was designed as a more potent successor to gabapentin. Pregabalin is marketed by Pfizer under the trade name Lyrica. Recent studies have shown that pregabalin is effective at treating chronic pain in disorders such as fibromyalgia and spinal cord injury. In June 2007, pregabalin became the first medication approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration specifically for the treatment of fibromyalgia.






"Most companies were not interested in his discovery in1989, but the Parke-Davis unit of Warner-Lambert wanted to know more. As Silverman learned later, Parke-Davis had a similar compound already in drug trials, his first bit of luck. Among 17 versions of the compound, called pregabalin, that Silverman sent to Parke-Davis, one showed effects in mice. This was another piece of luck because most chemicals that affect cells in lab experiments do not survive inside an animal".





"In a chemist's version of a winning PowerBall ticket, Richard Silverman's discovery eventually became a blockbuster drug that showered him and Northwestern University with more than $700 million in royalties. Still, there was disappointment along the way. Once Pfizer Inc., the giant pharmaceutical concern, took control of the drug's development, Silverman was pushed aside".



"I was an outsider," said Silverman, 61. "There was no talk with their scientists. No comments. They had a launch party for the drug, and I asked to come. Nope. No party for me. They take your stuff and tell you to go away." This hurt, Silverman said, because "scientists aren't in this for the money. We do it for the excitement of the research. You want to know what's happening. To take that away is a shame."



"Silverman's experience suggests finding a chemical that turns into a billion-dollar drug takes as much luck as winning the lottery. The rigor, logic and arcane scientific knowledge required are really just the price of a ticket".

Drug find worth $700 million