Last week, the Food and Drug Administration approved a new medication for acute pain that fills a gap in pain management. It’s stronger than over-the-counter medicines, like Advil, but not as strong as an opioid, like OxyContin.
Unlike opioids, which are highly addictive, suzetrigine (brand name Journavx) is “no different than Tylenol or ibuprofen in terms of addiction potential,” Cleveland Clinic pain management specialist Dr. Richard Rosenquist told NBC News. He added the new drug also doesn’t stimulate opioid receptors or produce feelings of euphoria. Instead, it works as a sodium channel blocker — stopping pain signals from reaching the brain in the first place.
In one clinical trial, patients took the drug after tummy tuck or bunion surgeries and reported about a 50% reduction in their pain after 48 hours. In another, 82% of surgical patients and 91% of nonsurgical patients said suzetrigine was good, very good, or excellent at treating their acute pain.
While there are still questions, many experts agree the potential is there. “I think in acute pain this drug has great promise,” said Michael Schatman, with NYU’s Grossman School of Medicine. “This is something that could be opioid-sparing, and we need more tools in our armory for that.”
The medication approval appears to be the first of its kind in 20 years and is part of the No Pain Act. Forbes magazine reports the No Pain Act provisions are designed to expand access to non-opioid treatment for pain in ambulatory surgical centers and hospital outpatient departments. including evidence-based treatments such as non-opioid medications and physical therapy.
Currently, hospitals receive the same payment from Medicare regardless of whether a doctor prescribes an opioid or a non-opioid. And so, typically hospitals have favored opioids, which are dispensed by a pharmacy upon a patient’s discharge at little or no cost to the hospital.
SOURCES: Business Wire, NBC News, Forbes, FDA
