*The United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved a new non-opioid prescription medication, Journavx (suzetrigine), for adults with moderate to severe acute pain.
Developed by Vertex Pharmaceuticals, this drug is the first non-opioid painkiller approved for such pain in over 20 years, ABC News reports. Clinical trials showed that Journavx reduced pain by about 50% within 48 hours, with meaningful relief occurring in 2-4 hours, compared to 8 hours with a placebo. It works by blocking a pain signal in the peripheral nervous system and does not carry the addictive risks of opioids like hydrocodone.
“Today’s approval is an important public health milestone in acute pain management,” said Dr. Jacqueline Corrigan-Curay, acting director of the FDA’s Center for Drug Evaluation and Research, in a press release. “A new non-opioid analgesic therapeutic class for acute pain offers an opportunity to mitigate certain risks associated with using an opioid for pain and provides patients with another treatment option.”
In trials, over 80% of patients rated it as an effective pain treatment. The new drug “offers a safer option for managing moderate-to-severe acute pain, reducing reliance on opioids,” Dr. Jianguo Cheng, a professor of anesthesiology and medical director of the Cleveland Clinic Consortium for Pain at Cleveland Clinic, who was not involved in the clinical trials, told ABC News.
Journavx cannot be used with certain medications that inhibit a liver enzyme, so its use may be limited depending on other drugs a person is taking. Additionally, grapefruit should be avoided while using Journavx.
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According to Dr. Cheng, the drug “offers rapid relief and can be integrated into postoperative pain protocols or acute pain scenarios where immediate relief is critical.”
Cheng added, “By managing acute pain effectively, [Journavx] may help prevent the transition to chronic pain, reducing the need for long-term pain management strategies,” he said.
Learn more about Journavx in the YouTube clip below.
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