Resident Companies in Action: AlgometRx
With Children’s National Hospital’s Innovation Day and Showcase approaching on May 31, the team at Johnson & Johnson Innovation – JLABS @ Washington, DC spoke with Dr. Julia Finkel, Chief Scientific Officer and Founder of AlgometRx, and pediatric anesthesiologist and pain medicine physician at Children’s National Hospital.
AlgometRx was born out of a desire to bridge the gap between pain assessment and management. Finkel often encountered non-verbal or young patients who were unable to communicate their pain levels effectively. This communication barrier extends to adult patients as well, as the current methods of pain assessment relies on subjective and nonspecific self-reporting. Driven by a desire to improve patient care, Finkel sought to develop a technology that could provide objective insights into pain assessment.
The current approach to pain assessment relies on patients rating their pain on a scale of 1 to 10, which has its limitations. As Finkel explains, this subjective method fails to capture the nuances of pain.
“An acute pain, like after breaking a bone, is very different from a neuropathic-type pain, and the treatment of these pains should therefore be different; however, this level of nuance is absent from our current method,” Finkel says.
Consequently, treatment decisions often lack precision and specificity. AlgometRx aims to transform pain assessment by providing an objective assessment of both pain type and intensity, enabling healthcare providers to tailor treatments more effectively.
Looking ahead to 2023, AlgometRx has an exciting year planned. The company has already achieved notable recognition, having been selected as finalists for the American Academy of Pain Medicine and Massachusetts Institute of Technology Hacking Medicine Innovation Challenge. AlgometRx was also selected as an awardee in the Improving Detection of Neurotoxicity in Immunotherapies QuickFire Challenge from Johnson & Johnson Innovation.
Furthermore, AlgometRx is actively engaged in the development of the next iteration of its technology. The company has finished executing its two active Phase I SBIR grants focused on lupus and vincristine-induced peripheral neuropathy applications. As AlgometRx continues to grow and expand its capabilities, it looks forward to preparing the Phase II submissions in these areas of research.
Since becoming a Johnson & Johnson Innovation – JLABS (“JLABS”) resident company, AlgometRx has found tremendous value in the resources and connections available through the ecosystem.
“Our time at JLABS has been fantastic,” Finkel says. “The world-class facility has given us access to equipment and resourced that we would never have been able to reach on our own.”
Moreover, Finkel expressed her gratitude to the JLABS team, who have assisted AlgometRx with settling in and establishing valuable connections within the Johnson & Johnson community. The programs at JLABS foster meaningful industry connections, offering exposure to key stakeholders and key opinion leaders.
AlgometRx is committed to its mission of revolutionizing pain assessment and management. With its innovative technology, AlgometRx is poised to potentially transform the way pain is understood, assessed, and treated, ultimately improving patient outcomes and quality of life.
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AlgometRx is a resident company at Johnson & Johnson Innovation – JLABS @ Washington, DC, which helps unleash the potential of innovators’ early scientific discoveries by providing state-of-the-art infrastructure (lab and offices), assigning a mentor to provide guidance, offering access to the investor community, and delivering training program to support startup executives. Interested in learning more? Connect with our team to discuss incubation, collaboration, or investment opportunities.
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