FDA approves new non-opioid painkiller made by Vertex, sending its shares higher
Vertex Pharmaceuticals’ share price rose Friday morning after the Food and Drug Administration approved its novel non-opioid painkiller, Journavx.
Vertex Pharmaceuticals is the first drugmaker in decades to have a non-opioid approved to treat moderate to severe acute pain. The FDA said the approval of Journavx underscores its efforts to bring more non-opioid painkillers to the market.
Opioids, a class of drugs that includes heroin, are highly addictive because they trigger a surge of dopamine, the body’s reward system. How Journavx works, in the FDA’s words: “Journavx reduces pain by targeting a pain-signaling pathway involving sodium channels in the peripheral nervous system, before pain signals reach the brain.”
Opioids to treat pain, first championed by now defunct Purdue Pharma, have been widely blamed for the opioid epidemic that has led to countless deaths and addictions. Generic opioids are still produced by companies like Teva Pharmaceuticals and McKesson.
Opioids, a class of drugs that includes heroin, are highly addictive because they trigger a surge of dopamine, the body’s reward system. How Journavx works, in the FDA’s words: “Journavx reduces pain by targeting a pain-signaling pathway involving sodium channels in the peripheral nervous system, before pain signals reach the brain.”
Opioids to treat pain, first championed by now defunct Purdue Pharma, have been widely blamed for the opioid epidemic that has led to countless deaths and addictions. Generic opioids are still produced by companies like Teva Pharmaceuticals and McKesson.
