The first new pain relief drug to be approved in decades will soon be on the market.
The drug, suzetrigine, is a prescription pill that is said to be as effective as opioids, but it is believed to carry little risk of addiction. Unlike opioids, suzetrigine does not create a sense of euphoria as do opioids.
The new drug works differently than opioids, too. Opioid-type medications, like Vicodin, dull the sense of pain in the brain, according to CNN. But this new drug works by preventing nerves from signally pain.
Interestingly, the drug was developed after researchers investigated a family of fire walkers in Pakistan. Member of this family lack a gene that allows pain signals to fire in their skin. They could walk over hot coals with no problem, even though they did sense heat and touch.
This is the first drug in what is expected to be a new class of pain relief drugs. It will initially be prescribed to people who have pain after surgery, but there is some hope that the drug could be used for chronic pain. The drug is expected to wholesale at just over $15 per 50-mg pill (taken twice daily.)
