Frog-Skin Poison Could Yield New Painkiller

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A lethal poison in the skin of an Ecuadorean frog could lead to a painkiller that may be stronger than morphine but without morphine's side-effects, researchers reported Friday.

The new drug, known as ABT-594, would target the same kinds of severe pain now treated by morphine, including pain associated with some cancers and traumatic injury.

The compound, developed by researchers at Abbott Laboratories, has shown promise for pain relief in rats and mice, and is currently being tested on humans in Europe to determine its safety, Dr. Michael Williams of Abbott said in a telephone interview.

The compound is similar to substances found in the skin of an Ecuadorean frog, which relieves pain but also causes hypertension, neuromuscular paralysis and seizures.

The researchers were able to isolate the pain-relieving properties without including the deadly ones.

Williams stressed that research into the new painkiller was at an early stage, with preliminary human trials currently proceeding in Europe and no estimate of when such a drug might get to market.

However, he said that in tests on animals, there was no sign of addiction, an important advantage over morphine. Some 30 million to 40 million Americans use morphine to relieve pain, despite serious side effects including respiratory depression, dangerous constipation and addiction, according to the journal Science, which published the research.