Winston Pharmaceuticals

Winston Pharmaceuticals is an Illinois based biotechnology company developing therapeutics to alleviate pain for conditions without approved prescription medication or imperfect therapies. Winston aims to create a long term pain relief medication for patients of neuropathic pain, post-mastectomy pain, diabetic neuropathy pain, and phantom limb pain. The primary medicine candidate uses an active ingredient which depletes or interferes with the action of the neuroactive transmitter which decreases the ability of sensory fibers to transmit pain stimuli.

Civamide, a TRPV-1 (Transient Receptor Potential Vanilloid-1) is a proprietary chemical compound used in many of the company’s products. It affects type-C neurons by binding to a TRPV-1 membrane receptor to inhibit pain transmission. Other anesthesia's block all sensory neurons, but civamide is capable of blocking pain sensation only while allowing touch, heat, pressure, and vibration sensors to work. As of March 2019, Civamide application as oral intake, topical cream, nasal solution or patch form are in development.

Winston has multiple pain medications in investigational product pipeline for conditions like Episodic cluster headache, PHN (Postherpetic Neuralgia) of the trigeminal nerve, chronic migraine headache, Chron’s disease, Osteoarthritis pain, and End-stage cancer pain. Civamide Sterile Solution for End-stage pain is in pre-clinical test phase while other medications are in different clinical trial phases.

The company plans to distribute products in the United States exclusively and license its products for sale in other countries.

Joel E. Bernstein founded the company in 1998 and is headquartered in Vernon Hills, Illinois.