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Will the New Non-Addictive Painkiller Journavx Replace Opioids?

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20 hours ago

February 3, 2025

A glass building with 'Vertex' on the outside glows red in the sunset.

Northeastern ache and habit professional Ganesh A. Thakur explains what Journavx means for victims of acute and continual ache.

Boston-based Vertex Prescribed drugs developed Journavx, a non-addictive treatment for folks with reasonable to extreme acute ache. AP Picture/Invoice Sikes

A novel painkiller accepted Thursday by the FDA guarantees to alleviate post-surgical struggling whereas avoiding the addictive qualities of opioid drugs.

Boston-based Vertex Prescribed drugs, which developed the oral therapy referred to as Journavx for folks with reasonable to extreme acute ache, says it’s “the primary new class of ache drugs accepted in additional than 20 years.”

It’s a massive step in growing painkillers with out the chance of habit, says Ganesh A. Thakur, chair of Northeastern’s Division of Pharmaceutical Sciences.

“That is undoubtedly a significant development in ache administration as a result of this can be a first of its type,” says Thakur, who has labored in ache and habit analysis for 20 years.

“It is a very highly effective compound that works on acute ache,” he says, defining acute as short-term situations equivalent to post-surgical ache.

Journavx works by blocking ache alerts within the peripheral nervous system earlier than they attain the mind, not like opioids. Opioid drugs equivalent to Vicodin and OxyContin work on receptors within the mind and find yourself triggering highly effective reward programs.

Thakur calls Journavx “a novel compound with a novel mechanism of motion.”

“Opioids block the mind’s notion of ache, whereas this compound blocks the transmission of the ache on the preliminary web site of the harm,” he says. “So the harm is there, however the ache doesn’t attain the mind.”

Ganeshsingh Thakur standing in a dimly lit doorway. — Professor and chair of Northeastern’s Division of Pharmaceutical Sciences Ganesh Thakur says the event of Journavx is a “massive step.” Picture by Matthew Modoono/Northeastern College

Often known as suzetrigine, Journavx is a category of recent drug referred to as a sodium channel blocker.

Consider a automotive being blocked from getting into a freeway, Thakur says. “That’s your sodium channel blocker. It doesn’t let the ache sign undergo to the freeway.”

“With opioids, the automotive will get onto the freeway and retains shifting as a result of the sensation of ache has been eased,” he says. “Opioids work on the mind’s ‘toll sales space.’ They don’t cease the vehicles (ache alerts) from shifting however attempt to make you ‘care much less’ about ache. “There may be an altered notion on the mind stage.”

Medical knowledge collected on a whole bunch of Journavx sufferers confirmed no proof of withdrawal or drug-seeking behaviors, Thakur says, including that extra details about the drug can be recognized as soon as it’s clinically prescribed.

The FDA says the efficacy of Journavx was evaluated in two randomized, double-blind, placebo- and active-controlled trials of acute ache, one involving stomach surgical procedure and the opposite bunionectomy.

“Each trials demonstrated a statistically important superior discount in ache with Journavx, in comparison with placebo,” the FDA says.

The most typical negative effects had been itching, muscle spasms, rashes and liver points, Thakur says.

Some physicians concern the comparatively excessive worth of Journavx — $15.50 per capsule, in comparison with about $1 for an OxyContin HCI pill — will discourage insurers from overlaying the brand new treatment.

Value is a matter, Thakur says. However he says he expects insurers to be motivated to scale back the usage of opioid therapies each due to negative effects equivalent to constipation and respiratory melancholy but in addition because of the function they play in habit and overdoses.

“Drug overdoses are linked to the usage of fentanyl and abuse compounds, which has origins within the opioids market” of the late twentieth century, Thakur says.

“I’d say this isn’t going to take out opioids from the market fully,” he says. For starters, Journavx has but to indicate proof of decreasing continual ache or the extreme ache related to late stage cancers.

However “it’s a giant step,” Thakur says. “Folks have been speaking about sodium channel innovators for a very long time. It’s a billion greenback loss if you attempt to develop medicine, take it to superior phases they usually fail. I’m very completely satisfied to see that Vertex did a tremendous job in advancing this compound.”