The United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved a new non-opioid prescription medication, Journavx (suzetrigine), for adults with moderate to severe acute pain. Developed by Vertex Pharmaceuticals,

The opioid epidemic continues to affect hundreds of thousands of people, but there may be hope for the future with a new, non-addictive alternative.

Suzetrigine (Journavx) is the first new drug approved to treat acute pain in over 20 years and the first to be classified as a selective NaV1.8 pain signal inhibitor, an alternative to opiates.

A new pain relief drug, suzetrigine, is a prescription pill that’s taken every 12 hours after a larger starter dose. It will be sold under the brand name Journavx.

The prescription pills, sold under the brand name Journavx and made by Vertex Pharmaceuticals, are taken twice a day and represent the first new class of pain medications in 20 years—and the first non-opioid painkiller since that class first appeared on the market in the 1980s.

The nonaddictive painkiller suzetrigine (Journavx) is as effective for acute pain as a common opioid treatment

The US Food and Drug Administration has approved suzetrigine (Journavx) 50 mg oral tablets, a first-in-class non-opioid analgesic, for the treatment of moderate to severe acute pain in adults,

The drug, Journavx by Vertex Pharmaceuticals, blocks pain signals to the brain, making it nonaddictive. The Food and Drug Administration approved a new medication Thursday to treat pain from an injury or surgery. It is expensive, with a list price of $15.50 per pill. But unlike opioid pain medicines, it cannot become addictive.