In January, the FDA approved Vertex Pharmaceuticals’ Journavx (suzetrigine), the first non-opioid pain reliever suitable for treating post-surgery pain.
Clinical trials found that patients didn’t show any of the problematic side effects associated with opioids. Unlike opioids, Journavx doesn’t meaningfully interact with the brain – it instead targets a specific sodium ion channel found almost exclusively on peripheral nociceptors (pain-sensing neurons), blocking them from sending pain signals to the brain.
The drug is a product of 27 years of research and billions of dollars.
Read the article on The Works in Progress Newsletter.
Sources:
• TLDR. (2025, June 27). TLDR Newsletter. https://a.tldrnewsletter.com/web-version?ep=1&lc=f5cb7e17-003d-11ed-9258-0241b9615763&p=29c1d0c0-532a-11f0-8a05-dfd4e7565873&pt=campaign&t=1751021762&s=dc783f725385f35826ce3417523b7fb4d1e69f6f44d7ed849655265c20bdc9ab
• Ma, M. (2025, June 26). The first non-opioid painkiller. The Works in Progress Newsletter. https://www.worksinprogress.news/p/the-first-non-opioid-painkiller
