Opioid Crisis No More: New, <em>Non-Addictive</em> Pain Killer

The United States Food and Drug Administration has approved a new, non-addictive pain medicine.

The new drug may help in the opioid crisis, as it works only on nerves outside of the brain, blocking pain signals without introducing the possibility of addiction.

The drug, suzetrigine, was made by Vertex Pharmaceuticals and is expected to be the first of a new generation of powerful, nonaddictive medications used in the treatment of pain. In clinical trials, suzetrigine was reported to ease the pain as much as the combination opioid and trial patients did not report nausea or drowsiness as side effects – though these are common side effects when taking opioids. The plan to tackle next is the price point, currently at $15.50 per pill or $31 per day for the commonly recommended dose of two. Nonetheless, with an average of 85,000 people becoming addicted to opioids per year, the drug is a promising new chapter in pain-relieving options.