What Concentric Analgesics does

Concentric Analgesics is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company developing a portfolio of non-opioid therapeutics for acute and chronic pain management. The company's scientific platform is built on novel TRPV1 agonist prodrug chemistry, in which water-soluble prodrugs are administered locally and then rapidly convert to capsaicin, a TRPV1 receptor agonist. The active metabolite selectively desensitizes pain-conducting C-fiber nociceptors, producing durable analgesia without the sensory numbness or motor weakness characteristic of local anesthetics or regional nerve blocks. The pipeline comprises three product candidates: vocacapsaicin (CA-008), the lead Phase 3-ready program targeting postsurgical pain via a single intraoperative injection with durable relief of two weeks or more; CA-051, an epidural formulation for chronic refractory cancer pain and post-amputation pain; and CA-011, an intra-articular injection targeting 3-6 months of relief in moderate-to-severe knee osteoarthritis, an addressable population of more than 14 million Americans.

Vocacapsaicin carries both FDA Fast Track Designation (December 2017) and FDA Breakthrough Therapy Designation (September 2018), and positive Phase 2 data have been generated across bunionectomy (33% pain reduction, 50% opioid consumption reduction), total knee arthroplasty (21% pain reduction, 31% opioid reduction through 168 hours, 52% opioid reduction after discharge), and open laparotomy indications. Phase 2 results were published on the cover of the August 2024 issue of ANESTHESIOLOGY. The company has formalized Phase 3 clinical partnerships with Evolution Research Group (a U.S. postsurgical pain site network) and the University of Rochester Medical Center for registration trials.

Concentric Analgesics operates a clinical-stage business model with no commercial revenue today; near-term economics depend on advancing vocacapsaicin through Phase 3, NDA filing, and eventual commercialization. Future commercialization is expected to follow an enterprise field sales model targeting hospitals, ambulatory surgical centers, anesthesiologists, and orthopedic surgeons for the postsurgical indication, with broader applicability to oncology pain management and osteoarthritis workflows. The company is headquartered in the San Francisco Bay Area, was founded in 2014 (per firmographic records) / 2017 (per company-history records), and has raised approximately $96 million in total equity and convertible financing from institutional investors including Oracle Investment Management, Venrock Healthcare Capital Partners, Cowen Healthcare Investments, Kern Whelan Capital, and Incisive Capital. Headcount is in the 11-50 range, consistent with a lean clinical-development-stage organization.

Name

Concentric Analgesics

Legal name

Concentric Analgesics, Inc.

Website

https://concentricanalgesics.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2017

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Concentric Analgesics is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company developing non-opioid pain therapeutics based on a proprietary TRPV1 agonist prodrug platform, with lead asset vocacapsaicin Phase 3-ready for postsurgical pain and pipeline candidates targeting cancer-related and osteoarthritis pain.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Non-opioid Pain Therapeutics

NAICS

Pharmaceutical Preparation Manufacturing (325412), Pharmaceutical and Medicine Manufacturing (3254)

SIC

Pharmaceutical Preparations (2834)

akta.pro primary industry

Pain Management & Anesthesiology Pharmaceuticals (HLAIAAAN)

akta.pro secondary industries

Pain Management (Spine & Musculoskeletal) (HLAKALAM), Pain Management Clinics (Interventional & Medical) (HLAFABAH)

Keywords

• Non-opioid therapeutics
• Pain management drugs
• TRPV1 agonist prodrugs
• Postsurgical pain treatment
• Biopharmaceutical drug development

Headquarters

HQ city

San Francisco

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

Technology or R&D, Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Pharmaceutical Product Sales: As a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company, Concentric Analgesics is developing non-opioid pain therapeutics for commercialization. The company has not yet generated revenue and is focused on advancing vocacapsaicin through Phase 3 clinical trials toward NDA submission and eventual commercial launch.

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Concentric Analgesics is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company developing a portfolio of non-opioid pain therapeutics based on a proprietary TRPV1 agonist prodrug platform. The lead product candidate, vocacapsaicin (CA-008), is a first-in-class water-soluble prodrug that rapidly converts to capsaicin to provide long-lasting, pain-selective analgesia after a single intraoperative local injection, and is Phase 3-ready for postsurgical pain. Pipeline candidates CA-051 (epidural) and CA-011 (intra-articular) extend the platform to chronic refractory cancer/amputation pain and moderate-to-severe osteoarthritis pain, respectively.

Product overview

Concentric Analgesics is developing a portfolio of novel non-opioid therapeutic products based on TRPV1 agonist prodrug technology. The company's pipeline consists of three product candidates: Vocacapsaicin (CA-008) as the lead Phase 3-ready program for postsurgical pain, CA-051 for epidural administration targeting cancer and amputation-related chronic refractory pain, and CA-011 as an intra-articular injection for moderate-to-severe osteoarthritis pain. All products leverage a proprietary water-soluble prodrug platform that converts to capsaicin to selectively desensitize pain-conducting nerve fibers without causing numbness or weakness.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Vocacapsaicin (CA-008) Vocacapsaicin (CA-008) is a first-in-class, water-soluble prodrug that rapidly converts to capsaicin (a potent TRPV1 agonist) to provide long-lasting, non-opioid, pain-selective analgesia after a single local injection administered during surgery. It is Phase 3-ready for postsurgical pain management, with FDA Fast Track Designation (December 2017) and FDA Breakthrough Therapy Designation (September 2018); Phase 2 results showed 33% pain reduction and 50% opioid reduction in bunionectomy and 21% pain reduction with 31% opioid reduction in total knee arthroplasty.
• CA-051 CA-051 is a product candidate based on the TRPV1 agonist prodrug platform and designed for epidural administration to treat refractory pain associated with cancer or following amputation, representing the company's chronic refractory pain program.
• CA-011 CA-011 is a novel intra-articular injection product candidate designed to treat chronic pain associated with moderate to severe osteoarthritis, with a goal of providing 3-6 months of pain relief via a single injection, addressing more than 30 million Americans with osteoarthritis and approximately 5.2 million who currently receive intra-articular injections.

Quantifiable outcome

• 33% reduction in pain AUC 0-96h (p=0.005) and 50% reduction in opioid consumption (p=0.0019) in Phase 2 bunionectomy study
• +4 more outcomes

Named customers3 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Two partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• Evolution Research Group (ERG)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 2 February 2022Phase 3 clinical trial partnership with Evolution Research Group, a leading postsurgical pain clinical research site network in the U.S. HD Research LLC, an ERG portfolio company, has conducted prior Phase 2 studies. ERG will conduct registration trials for vocacapsaicin.
• University of Rochester Medical Center (URMC)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 2 February 2022Multi-faceted collaboration with URMC, a world-class center in orthopedic surgery products and techniques. URMC will participate in Phase 3 clinical trials and develop innovative methods to capture vocacapsaicin's benefit to patient recovery and rehabilitation. Key investigators include Dr. Michael D. Maloney, Dean's Professor of Orthopaedics.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Pacira BioSciences: Pacira's Exparel (liposomal bupivacaine) is the leading non-opioid, long-acting postsurgical pain product on the market and the most direct competitive benchmark for vocacapsaicin's positioning in surgical centers and hospitals.
• Heron Therapeutics: Heron developed HTX-011 (bupivacaine/meloxicam extended-release) for postsurgical pain — a directly comparable non-opioid, single-injection surgical pain therapeutic targeting the same orthopedic and soft-tissue surgical settings.
• Trevena: Trevena developed oliceridine (TRV130), a biased opioid receptor ligand for acute pain in hospital and surgical settings, making it a directly comparable acute/postsurgical pain competitor that has navigated the same FDA pathway.
• Anika Therapeutics: Anika markets intra-articular hyaluronic acid therapies (e.g., Monovisc, Cingal) for osteoarthritis knee pain — the most directly comparable commercial-stage competitor to Concentric's CA-011 intra-articular OA program.
• AcelRx Pharmaceuticals: AcelRx developed Dsuvia (sufentanil sublingual) for acute pain in medically supervised settings, and shares Concentric's CMO (Mike Royal) — making it a directly comparable acute-pain specialty pharmaceutical peer.
• Cara Therapeutics: Cara Therapeutics developed difelikefalin (Korsuva) for chronic pruritus and is pursuing chronic pain indications — a directly comparable clinical-stage pain therapeutics peer with overlap on Concentric's chronic pain program (CA-051).

Broad incumbents

• Vertex Pharmaceuticals: Vertex received FDA approval for suzetrigine (VX-548/Journavx) in early 2025 — the first major non-opioid acute pain therapeutic in decades — making it the most consequential broad incumbent now defining the non-opioid pain category vocacapsaicin must compete in.
• Pfizer: Pfizer (with Eli Lilly) developed tanezumab, an NGF inhibitor for osteoarthritis and chronic pain — a broad incumbent with a directly comparable OA pain program that overlaps with Concentric's CA-011 intra-articular asset.

Emerging players

• SiteOne Therapeutics: SiteOne is developing non-opioid sodium channel (Nav1.7/1.8) inhibitors for acute and chronic pain, representing an emerging non-opioid pain therapeutic competitor in adjacent mechanism space.
• Halia Therapeutics: Halia Therapeutics is an emerging clinical-stage company developing novel non-opioid therapeutics for pain and inflammation, representing a smaller-scale emerging player in the same non-opioid pain therapeutic category.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/concentric_inc

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles8 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds3 records

Investors4 records

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Concentric Analgesics