The nonaddictive painkiller suzetrigine (Journavx) is as effective for acute pain as a common opioid treatment

Each year, about 125 million opioid prescriptions are written for Americans with pain caused by broken bones, burns, surgeries, and other injuries and procedures.

Vertex has gained the FDA's approval for its nonaddictive pain med Journavx, which becomes the first significant innovation in pain relief in more than two decades.