When Dr. Richard Prince, a life sciences executive and Short Hills resident, and esteemed scientist Dr. Joel Friedman, teamed up and founded Vascarta® Inc. in 2020, their goal was to revolutionize the way people deal with pain and inflammation. Today, they are well on their way to meeting that lofty goal.
How did you two come together?
JF: We were at one time friendly competitors, and right before COVID, we were thinking about creating a company. During COVID, I came up with a safe gel formulation that allows for very high concentrations of hard to dissolve medicines and natural products and for smart drug delivery into the blood following topical application.
This led to the establishment of our new company that we named Vascarta. Richard has this amazing sense of what’s needed to bring new compounds to market in an efficient manner.
How does this new formulation ease pain and inflammation?
JF: Inflammation activates pain generating nerves. Curcumin was selected as our first therapeutic compound given its well-established safety profile and promise as an analgesic and anti-inflammatory agent. Our first product was produced by combining curcumin with our patented gel drug delivery technology. The results were dramatic.
RP: Curcumin is a spice derived from turmeric. It’s widely used around the world for many different ailments. The United States FDA recognizes curcumin as a safe compound.
JF: Curcumin has been very well studied and has shown great therapeutic promise. However, oral curcumin has only minimal therapeutic efficacy even at very high doses. Our transdermal delivery approach overcomes the many limitations associated with oral curcumin. Whereas oral curcumin requires extended treatment over weeks and still only yields modest benefits, our product can generate detectable results literally within minutes of topical or sublingual [under the tongue] application. Normalization of elevated blood pressure, as well as pain reduction, occur very shortly after topical application. These effects are not seen with oral curcumin.
What conditions can it treat?
JF: The many painful joint ailments such as osteoarthritis and sciatica that plague and limit the elderly are prime targets for this product, especially because of the significant limitations on NSAID use in older pain sufferers.
Based on our dramatic and just published preclinical results, we are also pursuing treatment of chronic and acute pain in sickle cell patients.
We also have results indicating that our product may prove effective in relieving many of the consequences of aging.
Tell me about the Topi-CLICK applicator.
RP: With just a little twist of the applicator, you will hear an audible click, which will release a defined dose of the product which is then put on your skin in the desired place and gently rubbed in with the tip of the applicator. Alternatively, the dose can be applied directly under your tongue.
It’s available with a doctor’s prescription, correct?
RP: Yes, it’s currently being prescribed by doctors in 22 states from Town & Country Compounding Pharmacy (Ramsey, New Jersey).
What is the name of the product?
RP: Until it’s approved by the FDA, all we can say at present is that our curcumin transdermal product is available. To learn more about it, people can contact Town & Country Compounding Pharmacy.
What has the feedback been?
JF: We have reports showing that within two hours, knee pain was gone and normal activity, including sports, resumed. We have also had reports of enhanced athletic performance.
I, myself, was starting to get horrible sciatica, and I rubbed it on my lower back and overnight the pain was gone. We had another case of somebody who had a motorcycle accident and his knee swelled up and was agonizingly painful. After he applied our product, the swelling went down and the pain was gone.
Multiple users report substantial and sustained drops in elevated blood pressure back into the ideal range as well.
What is your top goal?
RP: We have worldwide exclusive rights to this life-changing product, and Vascarta is actively working to one day make this curcumin product globally available. The world is really clamoring for non-opioid or non-habit-forming analgesics as well as safe anti-inflammatories without major side effects.
Is there anything else you would like to mention?
RP: Vascarta is a local company with a strong and experienced management team. We have embarked upon something with significant potential to make a positive impact in the practice of medicine. We're so excited about the future. Interested parties can contact me to learn more about how Vascarta is “Moving Medicine Forward, Smartly.”
“We have reports showing that within two hours, knee pain was gone...”