The U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved the first new pain reliever to hit the market in over 20 years. This medication, produced by Vertex Pharmaceuticals Inc VRTX +0.07% , is a non-opioid and therefore non-addictive. The new drug, suzetrigine, will be sold under the brand name Journavx.
Unlike opioids, Journavx blocks pain signals in the peripheral nervous system, not in the brain, so it does not create the same pleasurable effects usually felt with opioids and which often leads to dependence or addiction.