A review of the patent literature surrounding TRPV1 modulators

TRPV1, a pivotal therapeutic target for chronic pain and pruritus, has been validated in the pathogenesis of several pathologies from diabetes to cancer. Despite the constellation of chemical structures and strategies, none of these molecules has yet been clinically developed as a new drug application due to safety concerns, particularly in thermoregulation. Thus, clinical development of TRPV1 modulators remains a challenge.

This review covers the patent literature on TRPV1 modulators (2019-2024, PubMed, Google Patents, and Espacenet), from orthosteric ligands to innovative compounds of biotechnological origin such as interfering RNAs or antibodies, and dual modulators that can act on TRPV1 and associated proteins in different tissues.

Therapeutic strategies that preferentially act on dysfunctional TRPV1 channels appear essential, along with a superior understanding of the underlying mechanisms affecting changes in core body temperature (CBT). Recent findings describing differential receptor interactions of antagonists that do not affect CBT may pave the way to the next generation of orally active TRPV1 inhibitors. Although we have thus far experienced a bitter feeling in TRPV1 drug development, the recent progress in different disciplines, including human-based preclinical models, will set an interdisciplinary approach to design and develop clinically relevant TRPV1 modulators.