A neuroscientist and some grape skins vs. the pharmaceutical industry.
What’s in a name?
In late 2017, NPR aired a two-minute segment on the science behind our new pain cream. It became such a popular segment that it left our customers hungry for more detail. So by popular demand and for the first time ever, here’s part 7 of an 11-part story on the discovery and creation of Ted’s Pain Cream. To read from the beginning, click here.
Some time passed, careers blossomed, and Ted and Greg had moved to another university where they continued their quest. Now that they had a product and a strategy, they needed a name. The scientists suggested calling it “Resveratech,” but their friends in marketing were lukewarm at best. The name the marketing people liked was something a lot simpler. “You should just call it ‘Ted’s,’” they said. Ironically, Greg was an immediate fan of the name, and it was Ted himself who was iffy. “It was my wife who actually talked me into it,” Ted laughs. “I blame the whole thing on her now. In hindsight, though, she was right, as she always is!”
Their next decision was, from their point of view, even more important than the name. Ted and Greg agreed that they wanted their discovery to help support a meaningful cause. But finding the cause that felt right took some time. Some obvious non-profits jumped out immediately. Both of them had experienced the tragedy of a friend’s overdose. And both shared a passion for helping disrupt the cycles of pain that can lead to addiction. So addiction and recovery causes were strong considerations.
But they also believed passionately in the value of education, with a particular awareness of the rising costs of higher education. After much discussion, it occurred to them that the right cause could scratch both of those itches.
“There’s a shortage of support for good neuroscience being done in the pain field,” explains Greg. “And there won’t be a single solution to the Opioid Crisis. It’s going to take lots of new thinking and lots of new treatment.”
Ted and Greg agreed that the best thing they could do was to make sure deserving students in the field were getting the right opportunities to advance their new ideas. “The best way to share new science is by attending science conferences. Unfortunately,” says Ted, “the travel is too expensive for all but the most privileged students.”
That’s how they decided that Ted’s would support the Larry Cauller Neuroscience Travel Fund. Which connects students doing important work with experts all around the world, helping advance both basic scientific understanding, and the careers of talented young people.
“People in pain need better basic science,” says Ted. “This is how that science begins.”
All the peer-review in the world couldn’t prepare them for this next part Next >
