Vascarta Outlines VAS-101's (Vasceptor®) Potential as a Non-Opioid Advance in Pain Medicine Across Sickle Cell Disease, Osteoarthritis, and Cancer

SUMMIT, N.J., Aug. 25, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- Vascarta Inc., a clinical-stage pharmaceutical company advancing a transdermal curcuminoid therapeutic for pain and inflammation, today outlined converging preclinical and clinical evidence that its lead candidate, VAS-101 (Vasceptor^®), targets a common inflammatory pain pathway across three distinct disease settings: sickle cell disease (SCD), chemotherapy-induced pain in cancer, and osteoarthritis (OA). Taken together, the company believes this body of work positions Vasceptor as a potential non-opioid advance in the treatment of chronic and acute pain.

A Common Pathway Behind Very Different Pains

Vasceptor is built on Vascarta's patented Vasporta™ gel-based delivery platform, which, combined with a small-molecule active pharmaceutical ingredient such as curcumin, is designed to cross the skin and reach plasma and circulating blood cells for both local and systemic effect — without the bioavailability limits of oral dosing or the burdens of intravenous administration [1].

A growing body of data suggests Vasceptor acts on a pain pathway shared across seemingly unrelated conditions: interleukin-17A (IL-17A) amplifying tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α) and p38 MAPK stress signaling, which drives central and peripheral nervous system sensitization to pain [2]. Because this cascade sits downstream of quite different initial triggers — hemolysis and hypoxia in SCD, chemotherapy-induced neurotoxicity in cancer (CIPN), and local joint inflammation in OA — a therapy that quiets it may relieve pain across all three indications:

• Sickle cell disease. In humanized sickle mice, transdermal curcumin reduced chronic mechanical and cold pain hypersensitivity, reduced mast cell activation, reduced axonal injury to dorsal root ganglion (DRG) neurons, and lowered multiple markers of red blood cell instability, hemolysis, and inflammation [1]. In a related mechanistic study, spinal IL-17A–TNF-α/p38 MAPK signaling was shown to drive acute pain behavior following incitement of hypoxia/reoxygenation in sickle mice; VAS-101 (transdermal curcumin) suppressed this cascade, reduced spinal microglial activation, and blunted the resulting hyperalgesia [2].
• Chemotherapy-induced pain in cancer. In a mouse model of breast cancer, VAS-101 reduced mechanical, cold, and musculoskeletal hyperalgesia caused by cisplatin chemotherapy, while preserving cisplatin's antitumor efficacy. The formulation lowered spinal IL-17A, blocked cisplatin-driven p38 MAPK activation in DRG neurons and protected neuronal and mitochondrial structure — without blunting the chemotherapy's effect on tumor growth [3].
• Osteoarthritis. In a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled Phase 1b trial in adults with knee osteoarthritis, VAS-101 produced a statistically significant reduction in KOOS pain scores and daily pain ratings versus placebo, with roughly 40% of participants reporting meaningful improvement within 28 days and a favorable tolerability profile [4].
• Vascular and red blood cell effects. Complementary preclinical work shows VAS-101 preserves tissue oxygenation and microvascular perfusion during simulated vaso-occlusion [5], consistent with the company's broader view that Vasceptor's benefit in improving tissue oxygenation may extend beyond SCD to other conditions where hypoxia contributes to pain and tissue injury [6].

Leadership and Scientific Perspectives

Dr. Kalpna Gupta, Professor, Division of Hematology/Oncology, University of California, Irvine, commented:

"Across distinct etiologies—including sickle cell crisis, chemotherapy-induced neuropathy, and inflammatory arthropathy—these disease models consistently converge on a singular molecular signature: IL-17-driven p38 MAPK signaling in neuronal and glial cells in the central nervous system. Disrupting this shared pathway isn't just masking pain, it is delivering a disease-modifying targeted therapy rather than mere symptomatic pain relief."

Dr. Joel Friedman, Vascarta Scientific Founder & Chief Scientific Officer, commented: "Vasporta was designed to solve a simple problem — facilitating a small molecule like curcumin through the skin and into circulation at levels oral dosing cannot achieve. Once VAS-101 is in circulation, it acts on the same inflammatory and oxidative pathways regardless of what set them in motion, whether sickle cell pain, chemotherapy-induced pain, or osteoarthritis pain. The targeting of the hard to disrupt cyclical interplay of activated mast cells, microglia and the IL17 pathways has very general implications for both pain and neuro-inflammatory diseases."

Dr. Richard Prince, Vascarta Chairman, CEO & President, commented: "Pain relief that doesn't rely on opioids remains one of the largest unmet needs in medicine. We believe the data across these three indications support Vasceptor's (VAS-101) potential as a genuine advance — a single, safe, transdermal platform addressing a shared biological driver of pain potentially reducing the need for disease-specific pain treatments. We look forward to advancing our IND submissions and continuing this work with our collaborators."

About VAS-101 (Vasceptor^®)

VAS-101 is a topical curcumin formulation employing Vascarta's patented Vasporta™ transdermal delivery technology to increase bioavailability. VAS-101 is exclusively licensed to Vascarta from the Albert Einstein College of Medicine (Bronx, New York, USA). Curcumin is a well-studied molecule with potent anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, and analgesic properties arising in part from its pleiotropic targeting of multiple contributing signaling pathways. Poor oral bioavailability of curcumin has limited its clinical effectiveness. Transdermal and transmucosal delivery of curcumin via VAS-101 overcomes the limitations of oral delivery and promotes enhanced therapeutic efficacy of curcumin and many other potential but hard-to-deliver small molecule therapeutics.

About Vascarta

Vascarta is a clinical stage company innovating treatments for chronic diseases via transdermal and transmucosal loading of drugs into circulating blood cells for targeted anti-inflammatory activity. More information can be found at www.vascarta.com.

Investor Contact

Dr. Richard Prince, Chairman, CEO & President — [email protected]

Media Contact

David Hymson, Communications — [email protected]

References

1. Goel Y, Arellano MA, Fouda RT, et al. Targeting sickle cell pathobiology and pain with novel transdermal curcumin. PNAS Nexus. 2025;4(2):pgaf053. https://doi.org/10.1093/pnasnexus/pgaf053

2. Goel Y, Argueta DA, O'Daniel K, Mireles C, Lomeli RA, Prince R, Friedman J, Gupta K. Neuroimmune signaling through spinal IL-17–TNF-α/p38 MAPK drives acute pain in sickle cell disease. J Sickle Cell Dis. 2026;3(Suppl 1):yoag020.003. https://doi.org/10.1093/jscdis/yoag020.003

3. Goel Y, Mireles C, Ordaz D, O'Daniel K, Peterson KA, Lomeli N, Lomeli R, Bota DA, Friedman J, Gupta K. Novel transdermal curcumin (VAS-101) attenuates cisplatin-induced neuropathy in a mouse model of breast cancer. Presented at the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) Annual Meeting 2026, Poster #5216.

4. Lopresti AL, Antony B, Smith SJ. The effect of a topical curcumin formulation (VAS-101) on knee pain in adults with knee osteoarthritis: a randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled study. Front Pain Res. 2026;7:1789088. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpain.2026.1789088

5. Nugent WH, Prince R, Friedman J, Song BK. Transdermal curcumin gel (VAS-101 drug candidate) improves the microcirculation and tissue oxygenation in a rat model of sickle cell vaso-occlusive episode. J Sickle Cell Dis. 2026;3(1):yoag034. https://doi.org/10.1093/jscdis/yoag034

6. Vascarta Inc. Vascarta Outlines Proposed Mechanistic Link Between VAS-101's (Vasceptor^®) Vascular and Red Blood Cell Effects in Sickle Cell Disease. PR Newswire. August 20, 2026. https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/vascarta-outlines-proposed-mechanistic-link-between-vas-101s-vasceptor-vascular-and-red-blood-cell-effects-in-sickle-cell-disease-302856724.html

SOURCE Vascarta Inc.