Introduction: Fibromyalgia (FM) is a chronic pain condition characterized by widespread pain and complex comorbidities with a high unmet medical need. Given few past successes in the launch of analgesics with new mechanisms, the implementation of practical biomarkers for drug discovery and development would be necessary to rationally create innovative drugs for chronic pain conditions, including FM.
Areas covered: This review surveys the evidence on pathophysiology of FM and the findings regarding the pathophysiology-associated practical biomarker candidates in body fluids (e.g. blood) from the studies in FM patients. This review also summarizes the most commonly used animal models simulating key aspects of clinical FM features. Finally, a strategy for rationally creating innovative drugs for FM is discussed.
Expert opinion: Drug discovery and development for FM targeting immune dysregulation/inflammation would be a viable strategy based on the availability of the pathophysiology-associated practical biomarkers (e.g. serum interleukins), which monitor the efficacy of interventions and/or identify responders based on the matching pathophysiology throughout the process from animal models to patients. This strategy could lead to a breakthrough in the development of drugs for FM, a chronic pain condition.
Keywords: Animal model; fibromyalgia; immune dysregulation; monitoring biomarker; pathophysiology; predictive biomarker.