September’s International Pain Awareness Month marks critical moment to leverage more effective methods of treating chronic pain

TORONTO, Aug. 26, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — September marks Canada’s most important International Pain Awareness Month yet. The stressors brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic have manifested as new triggers for those living with chronic pain, further worsening their condition over the last 18 months.¹ Now, as Canada prepares for the upcoming fourth wave, it is imperative that we consider more effective ways of treating pain to better support the more than 8 million Canadians living with this condition.²

Canada has begun to take steps in addressing this issue. In 2019, Health Canada established the Canadian Pain Task Force (CPTF) to recommend an improved approach to manage chronic pain in Canada³, and its mandate has continued and expanded, further underscoring the urgent need to take action.

One of the CPTF’s goals is improving access to timely, equitable, and patient-centered care.⁴ Matching individuals with effective treatment to manage their pain is often a challenging and lengthy process, due to wide variations in responses to pain drugs between individuals. However, advancements in genetic testing and personalized medicine, termed pharmacogenetics (PGx), may play a significant role in helping realize this goal. PGx testing provides highly personalized insights on which medications and doses would be most effective with the least side effects for each individual, based on compatibility with their DNA. PGx testing, offers an alternative to the “trial and error” method, providing healthcare providers with a personalized “roadmap” to treatment success, while empowering individuals to take an active role in their own treatment. A recent pilot study of 50 chronic pain patients illustrated that, on average, individuals living with chronic pain could save over three years in frustrating drug ‘trial and error’ and over $3,000 in wasted drug costs just by taking a PGx test at the beginning of their treatment journey.⁵

“Having access to personalized, data-driven insights can be transformative for those living with chronic pain,” said Nancy White, CEO of Inagene Diagnostics Inc. “We have the tools to help alleviate both the pain experienced by Canadians and the pressures put on our healthcare system. It only makes sense to use these tools to our advantage and implement pharmacogenetic testing as a standard practice to support effective management of chronic pain.”

The impact that chronic pain has on Canadians and our economy is staggering, and even prior to the COVID-19 pandemic has cost Canada between $38 billion to $40 billion in direct and indirect healthcare costs.⁶ This issue is only expected to worsen, with Canada expecting to see a 17.5 per cent increase in the number of residents living with chronic pain by 2030, potentially costing the country over $52 billion in direct and indirect healthcare expenses.⁷ During the pandemic, the decimation of multiple health care services, specifically interventional techniques and elective surgeries, has been extensively described, and 70% of chronic pain patients report that their condition has worsened as a consequence of the pandemic. With up to 30% of those undergoing surgery going on to develop chronic pain, Canada is poised for massive surge in chronic pain cases as we address the COVID-driven surgery backlog.

Chronic pain is not only a leading cause of disability in Canada⁸, but if left untreated, it can lead to serious consequences. Patients with chronic pain who cannot obtain treatment face additional interference with their basic functioning, with 50% reporting that it leads to feelings of depression, while 35% report suicidal ideation.

“Chronic pain is at a crisis point, and there is a tremendous opportunity to improve the health outcomes of Canadians living with pain,” says White. “If we adopt an innovative and effective approach to treating this condition now, our next International Pain Awareness Month will look very different.”

What is PGx Testing?
Pharmacogenetics (PGx) looks at how a person’s DNA affects their response to drugs. Your DNA can affect the effectiveness of a drug, how quickly or slowly you metabolize drugs or whether you have a bad reaction to a drug. Pharmacogenetics can help healthcare professionals more accurately identify which drug (and what dose) will work best for each individual before they are treated, so they can feel better sooner with less medication “trial and error.”

A PGx test is done at home with a simple cheek swab, making it easy for anyone to have access to this level of testing.

To learn more about pharmacogenetic testing, visit Inagene.com

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Note to Editors:
For further information please contact:
Kate Nishida, Agnostic
[email protected]

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¹ https://www.news-medical.net/news/20210302/Study-The-pandemic-has-worsened-the-condition-of-7025-of-people-with-chronic-pain.aspx
² https://www.newswire.ca/news-releases/government-of-canada-continues-to-take-action-to-support-people-with-chronic-pain-893797589.html
³ https://www.canada.ca/en/health-canada/corporate/about-health-canada/public-engagement/external-advisory-bodies/canadian-pain-task-force/report-2021.html#_Toc67582175
⁴ https://www.canada.ca/en/health-canada/corporate/about-health-canada/public-engagement/external-advisory-bodies/canadian-pain-task-force/report-2021.html#_Toc67582175
⁵ https://www.globenewswire.com/news-release/2021/06/08/2243458/0/en/Canadians-living-wit%5B%E2%80%A6%5De-over-57-billion-with-use-of-pharmacogenetic-testing.html
⁶ https://www.canada.ca/en/health-canada/corporate/about-health-canada/public-engagement/external-advisory-bodies/canadian-pain-task-force/report-2021.html
⁷ https://www.canada.ca/en/health-canada/corporate/about-health-canada/public-engagement/external-advisory-bodies/canadian-pain-task-force/report-2021.html
⁸ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3084407/