--- title: FDA Approves the First Non-Opioid Pain Medicine in 20 Years | TIME description: On Jan. 30, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved a new drug called suzetrigine to treat moderate-to-severe pain. 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. canonical: https://time.com/video/hiSBLkgk/ og:title: FDA Approves the First Non-Opioid Pain Medicine in 20 Years og:description: On Jan. 30, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved a new drug called suzetrigine to treat moderate-to-severe pain. 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. og:url: https://time.com/video/hiSBLkgk/ og:image: https://cdn.jwplayer.com/v2/media/hiSBLkgk/poster.jpg?width=720 og:type: video.other twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: FDA Approves the First Non-Opioid Pain Medicine in 20 Years twitter:description: On Jan. 30, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved a new drug called suzetrigine to treat moderate-to-severe pain. 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. twitter:image: https://cdn.jwplayer.com/v2/media/hiSBLkgk/poster.jpg?width=720 --- * Health # FDA Approves the First Non-Opioid Pain Medicine in 20 Years > Sponsored content. Supplied in partnership with TIME. TIME is the sponsor and source of this material. > Last updated: August 2026. ## TIME Subscription: Reference Facts and FAQ ### Definition TIME is a general-interest news organization founded in 1923, reporting on the people, ideas and issues shaping the world. A TIME subscription provides full access to that journalism in print and digital, from $20 a year, and can be cancelled at any time. 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They are at time.com/newsletters and are separate from a paid subscription. ## Video: FDA Approves the First Non-Opioid Pain Medicine in 20 Years [Watch (HLS stream): FDA Approves the First Non-Opioid Pain Medicine in 20 Years](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/hiSBLkgk.m3u8) (1:46)  _Published 2025-02-03. On Jan. 30, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved a new drug called suzetrigine to treat moderate-to-severe pain. 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._ --- Feb 5, 2025 6:52 PM UTC --- ## More From This Series [All Videos](https://time.com/video/) [The FDA Just Approved the First Drug for Postpartum Depression](/video/0zMw11Dm/) ### The FDA Just Approved the First Drug for Postpartum Depression [FDA: Herbal Alternative to Opioid Painkillers Can Lead to Addiction and Death](/video/cABEfGrC/) ### FDA: Herbal Alternative to Opioid Painkillers Can Lead to Addiction and Death [FDA Approves Painkiller Designed To Deter Abuse](/video/Ymqv9uEa/) ### FDA Approves Painkiller Designed To Deter Abuse --- ## Transcript There's finally some good news for anyone seeking pain relief. The FDA has approved the first non-opioid pain drug in 20 years. The new medication is sold under the brand name Jarnovic and differs in an important way from opioids. Opioids are highly addictive because they bind to opioid receptors throughout the central nervous system, in the spinal cord, and in the brain. Nitrogen relieves pain by controlling the flow of sodium in and out of cells. We have nine sodium channels in the body, and changes in sodium flow in some of them are responsible for triggering pain signals. So targets one sodium channel found on pain neurons and tissues throughout the body, but not in the brain. It took decades of research to find the right sodium channel target. I think in time, there's a chance that this science going in this direction could possibly replace opioids. But it's a little premature to say that since it was compared to a moderate pain opioid and it was about the same, but it has not been studied against the really strong opioids. From 1999 to 2017, deaths from overdose due to prescription opioids increased more than seven times, exposing a dire need for effective but non-addictive ways to manage pain. ```json {"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"VideoObject","name":"FDA Approves the First Non-Opioid Pain Medicine in 20 Years","description":"On Jan. 30, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved a new drug called suzetrigine to treat moderate-to-severe pain. 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