RESEARCHERS from the University of Nottingham - the city which brought you ibuprofen - have discovered a new pain killer which they hope could go just as far.
But while the famous drug eases fevers and reduces swelling, the new find is likely to treat chronic pains such as open wounds resulting from things like car crashes.
Dr Lucy Donaldson collaborated with Professor David Bates for over five years to make their break through.
And although the new drug, yet to be named, won't be in pharmacies for years until safety tests are complete, scientists are confident it fills a gap in the market.
"This will help patients who have got damage to the nerves. This could come about from damaging the surface of the skin like you see in traffic accidents or if you break a bone and bend it out of shape," said Dr Donaldson," of the university's school of life sciences.
Gabapentin and pregabalin are often used in similar cases, but Dr Donaldson says they don't work on everyone.
"People who have an injury to the nerve are difficult to treat. In some people they are helpful but nerve damage affects different people in different ways."
The new pain killer will focus on a protein called vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), which controls the re-growth of blood vessels in tissues damaged by injury. It is a targeted compound for cancer, eye disease and other illnesses in which abnormal blood vessel growth occurs.
Professor Bates and his team found in 2002 that two forms of VEGF exists in all of us - one containing helps blood vessels grow and another that blocks it. Now, the researchers have found that one form causes pain while the other prevents pain.
Dr Donaldson says the drug has the capacity to treat diabetes and ease pain in chemotherapy patients.
"It's very early stages but we would like to think that we have got something that's important and is going to be really useful for doctors and improve patients' lives.
"Whether or not is will be as big as ibuprofen is a big question. That's a huge drug and we want to move in that direction and would love it to become as successful."
Fernando Stravino, from the Chronic Pain support group, cautiously welcomed the discovery.
He said: "I use co-codomol every day and there should be something on the market that specifically helps chronic pain."
"Doctors need to be educated about it and it should only be given to the right people. If you give it out and it takes all the pain away it could do more harm than good," said Mr Stravino, of Carlton, who has a spinal injury.
