UM atUM [S01-ep02]: From Opioids Without Side Effects to the Economic Experimentation Platform

[Podcast] - Published on October 21, 2021 in Science and Society

In this episode: opioid painkillers that may one day be free of addictive side effects, with Rémy Sounier fromthe Institute of Functional Genomics. In the second half of the program, Dimitri Dubois introduces us to LEEM, the experimental platform of the Montpellier Center for Environmental Economics.

Codeine, tramadol, buprenorphine,fentanyl, oxycodone…If you’ve ever come across these medications, it’s because you’ve also come across pain! Today, atUM takes you into the very sensitive realm of opioid analgesics. Whether caused by a migraine, surgery, an injury, or an illness, enduring pain is not an option when a single pill can sometimes be enough to make it disappear—at least for a few hours. So, relieving pain—yes, of course—but to what extent and how far should we go? This question lies at the heart of what some call “the opioid crisis”—or how to balance pain against side effects when the latter can sometimes even lead to death. It is estimated that 70,000 deaths were caused by opioid painkillers in the United States in 2019.

Toward opioid pain relievers without side effects

This reality may soon be a thing of the past, thanks to the work carried out by our guest and his team. Rémy Sounier is a researcher atthe Institute of Functional Genomics (IGF), and his discoveries are paving the way for a new generation of opioids that are non-addictive and free of serious side effects. His findings were published last September in the journal *Molecular Cell*.

Experimentation in Economics

In the second half of the program, we’ll take you to the Richter Campus, home to LEEM, the experimental platform of the Montpellier Center for Environmental Economics. Dimitri Dubois, the center’s director, gave us a tour during an experimental session we were able to attend.

AtUM , you’ve got the program—let’s get started!

Co-production: Divergence FM / University of Montpellier
Host: Lucie Lecherbonnier
Interview and reporting: Aline Périault / Lucie Lecherbonnier
Editing: Lucie Lecherbonnier
Director: Bruno Bertrand

Tune in to the show “AUM science” on Divergence FM 93.9