Can new drug promise pain relief without peril?

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has approved a novel prescription pain medication that targets sodium channels involved in pain signaling.

The drug suzetrigine, made by Vertex Pharmaceuticals and to be sold under the brand name Journavx, is an alternative to opioid medications and does not carry the typical risk of dependence and addiction. It is the first innovative pain treatment to be approved in over two decades.

“This is a major breakthrough for acute pain,” said Dr. Steven Cohen, professor of anesthesiology and pain medicine at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine and a Northwestern Medicine physician. “Untreated or poorly managed acute pain—and the reliance on high doses of opioids to control it—can lead to addiction and long-term pain, including persistent post-surgical pain,” he said.

Suzetrigine works by blocking a specific sodium channel, Nav1.8, that is involved in both acute inflammatory pain—such as pain after surgery—and neuropathic pain caused by disease or injury affecting the nervous system.

“The advantage of suzetrigine is not its efficacy, but rather its side effect profile, including the absence of addiction potential,” Dr. Cohen said. “That could translate to the drug being more effective, though that remains to be studied.”

The drug’s approval does not extend to chronic pain treatment. Still, Dr. Cohen sees the breakthrough as a positive step for the future of pain management.

“The approval will hopefully open the door for more non-opioid treatments for both acute and chronic pain, including those that target other sodium channels.”

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has approved a novel prescription pain medication that targets sodium channels involved in pain signaling.

The drug suzetrigine, made by Vertex Pharmaceuticals and to be sold under the brand name Journavx, is an alternative to opioid medications and does not carry the typical risk of dependence and addiction. It is the first innovative pain treatment to be approved in over two decades.

“This is a major breakthrough for acute pain,” said Dr. Steven Cohen, professor of anesthesiology and pain medicine at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine and a Northwestern Medicine physician. “Untreated or poorly managed acute pain—and the reliance on high doses of opioids to control it—can lead to addiction and long-term pain, including persistent post-surgical pain,” he said.

Suzetrigine works by blocking a specific sodium channel, Nav1.8, that is involved in both acute inflammatory pain—such as pain after surgery—and neuropathic pain caused by disease or injury affecting the nervous system.

“The advantage of suzetrigine is not its efficacy, but rather its side effect profile, including the absence of addiction potential,” Dr. Cohen said. “That could translate to the drug being more effective, though that remains to be studied.”

The drug’s approval does not extend to chronic pain treatment. Still, Dr. Cohen sees the breakthrough as a positive step for the future of pain management.

“The approval will hopefully open the door for more non-opioid treatments for both acute and chronic pain, including those that target other sodium channels.”