University of Akron research promising in opioid fight

Story excerpt provided by CantonRep.com.
Written by Shane Hoover.

Ohio Third Frontier awards $2 million to develop polymer mesh for pain relief.

Doctors soon could have another way to manage pain in patients after surgery other than using potentially addictive opioids.

A scientist at the University of Akron has developed a polymer mesh that can be coated with a non-opioid medication and implanted in the body near the surgical site.

The mesh would allow doctors to better target pain medication and use less-powerful drugs, said Matthew Becker, founder of the Becker Laboratory for Functional Biomaterials at the university.

Becker’s research got a significant boost last week from Ohio’s Third Frontier Commission in the form of a $2 million grant to further develop the polymer mesh. That investment is being matched with funding from the university and business partners 21MedTech and Merck & Co.

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Originally published December 14, 2017.