GRÜNENTHAL GMBH

PRESS RELEASE

Brussels, Belgium / Aachen, Germany, 24 September, 2007

The European Federation of Chapters of the International Association for the Study of Pain (EFIC) and the pharmaceutical company Grunenthal have announced the winners of this year's EFIC-Grunenthal Grant. Each year the grant provides young European scientists with the means to carry out innovative, exploratory clinical and human experimental pain research. This year 29 young researchers from eight countries applied for funds totaling € 100,000.

Although in general acute pain may reasonably be considered a symptom of disease or injury, chronic and recurrent pain is often a specific healthcare problem, which needs to be defined as a disease in its own right. Here EFIC and Grunenthal have committed themselves to invest in young researchers' projects on clinical and human experimental pain research.

Prof. Marshall Devor, Ph.D., EFIC Research Committee Chairman and Professor at the Institute of Life Sciences and Centre for Research on Pain at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, explains: "Chronic pains such as arthritis, backache and headache blacken the quality of life of millions of people across Europe , nearly 20% of all adults. And yet the investment in university-based research aimed at understanding pain mechanisms is dismally small.  By partnering with EFIC in the EFIC-Grunenthal Grant program, Grunenthal has stepped into a position of leadership."

“Without the research carried out by young university scientists it would be difficult to get deeper knowledge of the underlying mechanisms of chronic pain. At the same time pain treatment costs the European Union billons of Euro per year”, comments Wolfgang Becker, Member of the Executive Board (ad interim) of Grunenthal GmbH. “Therefore, Grunenthal has committed itself to this unrestricted research grant challenging the European Union to recognize chronic pain as a disease in its own right and not just as a disease symptom. Relieving patients of their suffering will help them to return to their daily, productive lives. The significant amount of money thus saved could then be used, for example, for finding cures to other illnesses.”

“Pain is swept aside ‘merely as a symptom' by doctors in most medical specialities - despite the fact that it is the number one reason for people to seek medical help. We need to start seeing pain, chronic pain at least, as a disease in its own right that will only be cured by specialized medical training and research”, said Prof. Serdar Erdine, M.D., EFIC President and Director, Department of Algology, Faculty of Medicine at Istanbul University .

The winners of this year's EFIC-Grunenthal Grant are:

•  Thomas Graven-Nielsen, Aalborg University, Denmark
‘Referred pain related to ‘Memory' in the nociceptive system'

•  Valéry Legrain, Université Catholique de Louvain, Brussels, Belgium
'Behavioural and neurophysiological explorations of cognitive modulations of pain'

•  Christian Netzer, Cologne University, Germany
'Comprehensive genetic analysis of the calcitonin-gene-related-peptide pathway in migraine with aura'

•  Markus Ploner, Technical University, Munich, Germany
'Gamma oscillations and human pain perception'

•  Dieuwke Veldhuijzen, University of Utrecht, The Netherlands
'Functional imaging of sympathetic arousal in fibromyalgia'

The prize award ceremony will take place in Aachen on 15th November 2007. The next call for applications for the 2008 EFIC-Grunenthal Grant will be issued in October 2007.

More information on the EFIC-Grunenthal Grant is available at www.e-g-g.info .

About EFIC

The European Federation of IASP Chapters (EFIC) is a multidisciplinary professional organization in the field of Pain Science and Medicine, made up of the 30 European chapters of IASP (the International Association for the Study of Pain). Established in 1993 by Prof. Ulf Lindblom, EFIC's 30 constituent chapters represent 33 countries and close to 18,000 scientists, physicians, nurses, physiotherapists, psychologists and other healthcare professionals across Europe, who study pain and treat patients in pain. www.efic.org

About Grunenthal
Grunenthal is an expert in pain therapy and gynaecology and a pioneer in intelligent, user-friendly drug delivery technologies. Founded in 1946, the company employs 1,900 people in Germany and 4,800 worldwide. In 2006, Grunenthal achieved revenues of 813 million Euro. www.grunenthal.com

Contact: Annette Fusenig, PhD
Phone +49 241 569-3345, Fax +49 241 569-3539,
annette.fusenig@grunenthal.com
Grünenthal GmbH, 52099 Aachen, Germany,
www.grunenthal.com