Suzetrigine: First Approval

Declarations

Funding The preparation of this review was not supported by any external funding.

Authorship and Conflict of interest During the peer review process the manufacturer of the agent under review was offered an opportunity to comment on the article. Changes resulting from any comments received were made by the authors on the basis of scientific completeness and accuracy. Susan J. Keam is a contracted employee of Adis International Ltd/Springer Nature, and declares no relevant conflicts of interest. All authors contributed to this article and are responsible for its content.

Ethics approval, Consent to participate, Consent to publish, Availability of data and material, Code availability not applicable

Additional information about this Adis Drug Review can be found here.

Abstract

Suzetrigine (JOURNAVX™), an oral, non-opioid analgesic that is highly selective for the voltage-gated sodium channel NaV1.8 relative to other NaV channels, is being developed by Vertex Pharmaceuticals Inc. for the management of acute and neuropathic pain. NaV1.8 is expressed in peripheral pain-sensing neurons but is not expressed in the brain. Suzetrigine prevents transmission of pain signals by blocking NaV1.8 channels located along peripheral pain-sensing neurons, inhibiting the normal action potential. On 30 January 2025, suzetrigine was approved for the treatment of moderate to severe acute pain in adults in the USA. Suzetrigine is the first NaV inhibitor to be approved in this new therapeutic class of non-opioid analgesics. This article summarizes the milestones in the development of suzetrigine leading to this first approval for the treatment of moderate to severe acute pain. 

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