FDA Approves 1st New Type of Non-Opioid Pain Reliever in Decades

The non-opioid drug provides ‘an opportunity to mitigate certain risks associated with using an opioid for pain,’ the FDA says.

A tablet and bottle of the JOURNAVX (suzetrigine) medication. Vertex Pharmaceuticals via AP

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on Thursday approved a new non-opioid pill, Journavx, for treating moderate-to-severe acute pain in adults, the first drug of its kind to be approved in more than two decades.

The drug, manufactured by Vertex Pharmaceuticals, reduces pain by blocking pain signals in the peripheral nervous system, unlike opioid drugs—which relieve pain by binding to receptors on nerve cells in the brain and potentially lead to addiction.