India, Jan. 30 -- Vertex Pharmaceuticals Inc. (VRTX) has secured FDA approval for Suzetrigine, an oral, non-opioid, highly selective NaV1.8 pain signal inhibitor, for the treatment of adults with moderate-to-severe acute pain.
The drug, which will be marketed under the brand name JOURNAVX, is the first and only approved non-opioid oral pain signal inhibitor and the first new class of pain medicine approved in more than 20 years. The most recent pain medication approved before JOURNAVX was Pfizer's Celebrex, a nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID) indicated to alleviate pain, fever, swelling, and tenderness associated with arthritis, which was granted the FDA nod in 1998.
JOURNAVX reportedly carries a list price of $15.50 per pill, s...