Opioid Alternatives: Suzetrigine (Journavx) Offers a New Treatment Option for Pain
Key takeaways:
Suzetrigine (Journavx) is non-opioid pain medication. It’s an oral tablet that’s FDA approved to treat moderate-to-severe acute (short-term) pain in adults. It’s the first new type of pain medication to be approved in more than 20 years.
Suzetrigine is a selective sodium channel blocker that interrupts pain signals at the source. It’s not an opioid and isn’t expected to lead to misuse and dependence.
In clinical trials, people who took suzetrigine after surgery reported less pain and fewer side effects than people taking a placebo (a pill with no medication in it). It also provided similar pain relief as hydrocodone / acetaminophen, an opioid.
Vertex, suzetrigine’s manufacturer, also hopes to seek approval for suzetrigine in diabetic neuropathy and certain types of back pain in the future.
Table of contents
For decades, researchers have looked for a safer alternative to opioids — a group of pain medications that come with a risk of misuse and overdose — that still works just as well.
This long search has finally paid off. A non-opioid pain pill called suzetrigine (Journavx) demonstrated positive results in clinical trials, and the FDA approved it for use in January 2025.
Here’s what to know about suzetrigine, a first-in-class opioid alternative.
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Suzetrigine (Journavx): A new opioid alternative for pain
Suzetrigine is a non-opioid medication that treats moderate-to-severe pain in adults. It’s meant for acute (short-term) use, not chronic use. It’s a 50 mg oral tablet that you can take twice daily for up to 14 days (2 weeks) at a time.
Vertex, suzetrigine’s manufacturer, claims that suzetrigine is the first medication in more than 20 years to work differently from existing pain medications.
How suzetrigine works
Suzetrigine is a sodium channel blocker that blocks a specific sodium channel called NaV1.8. These sodium channels are only in peripheral nerves. These are nerves outside the spinal cord and brain.
By blocking sodium channels outside the brain, suzetrigine stops pain at the source and stops pain signals from reaching the brain.
This is different from opioids, which have major effects within the brain. This impact on the brain is responsible for opioid side effects such as drowsiness, dizziness, and slowed breathing.
How effective is suzetrigine?
Two randomized controlled trials (RCTs) compared suzetrigine to hydrocodone / acetaminophen and a placebo for acute pain. Hydrocodone / acetaminophen is better known as Vicodin or Norco, but these brand names are no longer available.
Other non-opioid pain alternatives: Non-opioid treatment methods are often tried before opioids for treating pain. Here’s a list of opioid alternatives to consider.
Comparing over-the-counter (OTC) pain medications: OTC pain relievers are commonly used by many people. Learn about their similarities and differences and which one may be best for you.
Managing pain after surgery: There are several options for managing pain after surgery, including OTC medications, anesthetics, and more.
These RCTs included over 2,000 adults who just had surgery (bunion removal or “tummy tuck” procedures). The studies tracked self-reported pain in the 48 hours after surgery. The results showed that:
After surgery, people taking suzetrigine (100 mg once, then 50 mg twice daily) felt pain relief more quickly and experienced less pain overall than those taking placebo.
Suzetrigine and hydrocodone / acetaminophen appeared to be similarly effective at providing pain relief after these surgeries. But suzetrigine wasn’t better than hydrocodone / acetaminophen at relieving pain.
The most common side effects from suzetrigine were nausea, constipation, and headache. Dizziness also occurred. But these side effects were more common with placebo than suzetrigine.
These two studies played a big role in suzetrigine’s FDA approval.
Another study looked at suzetrigine treatment for up to 14 days for several different pain conditions, including post-surgical pain. Suzetrigine was found to be safe, with the most common side effect being headache. Suzetrigine also appeared to be effective, with over 80% of participants reporting pain relief.
Potential advantages of suzetrigine vs. opioids for pain
Suzetrigine may be able to treat pain with fewer side effects and overall risks than opioids.
Side effects
Non-opioid pain options like suzetrigine generally have a lower risk of dependency and misuse compared to opioids. This is because opioids treat pain by attaching to opioid receptors (binding sites), which causes a burst of the feel-good brain chemical dopamine. This makes opioids potentially addictive. Suzetrigine, on the other hand, isn’t known to increase dopamine levels.
Another drawback of opioids is their possible side effects. Examples include sleepiness and dizziness, which increases the risk of falls or car accidents. Constipation and nausea are also common. While suzetrigine may cause some of these side effects as well, it’s less likely and less severe if they do occur.
Perhaps the most serious opioid risk is that they can slow your breathing and lead to overdose. This is especially true at higher doses or if opioids are combined with other medications or substances that can slow breathing.
Efficacy
As discussed earlier, suzetrigine appeared to work as well as, but not better than, hydrocodone / acetaminophen at treating pain after surgery.
However, these studies were performed in a specific group of people: those with acute pain after bunion removal and tummy tuck surgeries. More research is needed to fully understand how well suzetrigine stacks up to opioid medications in a broad range of pain conditions.
What’s next for suzetrigine?
The FDA approved suzetrigine for the first time in January 2025. It’s currently only approved to treat moderate-to-severe acute pain.
Suzetrigine may be approved for additional uses in the future, though. It’s actively being studied for other types of pain — including chronic (long-lasting) pain. It’s common for medications to be approved for more uses over time if data shows they’re safe and effective for that purpose.
Neuropathic pain
Vertex may submit a supplemental new drug application (sNDA) for neuropathic pain in the future. Drug companies file an sNDA when they want a medication approved for an additional use.
Two phase 3 clinical trials for suzetrigine — which evaluate the safety and effectiveness of a treatment in a large group of people — began in October 2024 and December 2024, respectively. They’re set to run through the first half of 2027. The studies are evaluating suzetrigine’s safety and effectiveness among people living with diabetic neuropathy.
If these studies have positive results, an approval application may follow suit.
Back pain caused by lumbosacral radiculopathy
Vertex is also looking into suzetrigine’s effects on back pain caused by lumbosacral radiculopathy (a pinched nerve in the lower back).
According to phase 2 data that was shared in December 2024, suzetrigine may be a beneficial treatment for this type of back pain. However, it didn’t work significantly better than placebo. Vertex is now ironing out the logistics of a more advanced phase 3 trial.
When will suzetrigine be available?
Suzetrigine is now approved for use. But Vertex hasn’t announced a commercial launch date yet. There’s usually a small gap period between the time that a medication is approved and when it’s available for dispensing.
Suzetrigine will likely be available at pharmacies in the coming weeks to months. Make sure to check back with GoodRx for updates.
Are any other new medications being studied for pain?
Researchers are learning more about how pain develops and working to discover new ways to target pain. Vertex is looking at several other sodium channel blockers for pain. And several other companies are studying medications that target sodium channels as well, including the same sodium channel that suzetrigine targets (NaV1.8).
Other non-opioid medications that could be available one day include:
Anti-nerve growth factor (NGF) monoclonal antibodies
Gene therapy is another new approach being studied for chronic pain. But for now, researchers consider the development of suzetrigine a significant step forward.
The bottom line
Suzetrigine (Journavx) is a non-opioid pain medication. It’s an oral tablet that treats moderate-to-severe acute (short-term) pain in adults. This opioid alternative works by blocking pain signals from reaching the brain. Suzetrigine’s clinical studies found that it was more effective than placebo (a pill with no medication in it) at treating short-term pain. And it was similarly effective, but not more effective, than hydrocodone / acetaminophen. You shouldn't take suzetrigine for more than 14 days (2 weeks) at a time, but it’s thought to have fewer side effects and risks compared to opioids.
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