Cara Therapeutics opened its doors to neighbors February 26 with a presentation and wine & cheese reception at the company’s state-of-the-art headquarters and research facility at One Parrott Drive in Shelton. Sponsored by AT&T as part of its Focus on Innovation Series for the Greater Valley Chamber of Commerce, the evening began with remarks by Chamber President Bill Purcell and other Chamber officials, who then introduced Derek Chalmers, Ph.D., CEO, President, and Director of Cara Therapeutics. The company is a privately held biotechnology company focused on developing novel, superior therapeutics to treat pain and inflammation associated with diverse medical conditions. Cara’s current pipeline includes near-term clinical drug candidates identified as mechanistically distinct, peripherally-acting analgesics. The company website is at <http://www.caratherapeutics.com/>. Cara announced in January initiation of a Phase 2 clinical trial of its long-acting peripheral kappa opioid agonist, CR845. The company also expects to initiate a Phase I study of an oral formulation of CR845 later in 2009. In July 2008 the company announced it had closed on $12.3 million of funding in addition to its original $24 million Series C financing completed in 2007. Cara relocated to its 41,000 sq. ft. facility in Shelton from Tarrytown in August 2007.