Pain relief without addiction has been a pharmaceutical goal long before the opioid crisis. A newly approved medicine appears to have achieved that.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved Journavx to treat short-term pain. The drug, which was developed by Vertex Pharmaceuticals in Boston and tested as a pain treatment following surgeries, targets the nerves near an injury site instead of in the brain.
“It works in a way that is different than previous medications,” says Paul Negulescu, senior vice president at Vertex.
