Non-opioid painkiller: The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) of America has cleared a new non-opioid painkiller on Thursday. This drug, named Suzetrigine, does not add addictive compared to traditional opioid painkillers. However, its price is currently $ 15.50 per tablet, which can make it expensive. This drug will be sold under the Jenravox brand and will be produced by the USA's Vertex Pharmaceuticals.
This new drug adopts a different method to relieve pain, which prevents them before the signs of pain reach the brain. Experts believe that since it does not produce any kind of happiness or joy, it is not in danger of its addiction.
According to the reputed John's Hopkins Medicine in the US, Opioid is a type of drug that is made from or mimics from the natural substances found in the opium plant. Some major opioids include oxicodone, morphine, codeine, heroin, and phentinyl.
These drugs connect with opioid receptors in brain cells to relieve pain and reduce the feeling of pain as well as increase the feeling of joy. However, this feeling of bliss can give rise to psychological dependence in many people. According to a BBC report, "The feeling of happiness caused by taking opioids, users may awaken the desire to take it again, which increases the risk of addiction."
The pain goes as a sign from the body to the brain, which helps the person react to avoid any possible damage. Dr. Sergio Burges, an anesthesiologist at Stony Brooke University (New York), told CNN that many body parts are involved in the feeling of pain. It contains special neural ends (noserirasepters), which are spread throughout the body and become active during any tissue damage. These receptors send signs to the brain through the spinal cord, which we feel as pain.
Opioid painkillers suppress the feeling of brain pain, while Sujatrigin stops those signs before reaching the brain. "This medicine disrupts the path that may cause injury to the body, but its signs do not reach the brain," Burges told.
Sujatrigin is given as a 50 mg prescription pill. Initially, a dose of 100 mg is given, after which a dose of 50 mg has to be taken every 12 hours.
Every year in America, thousands of people lose their lives due to opioid overdose. According to data from the US Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), 82,000 people died in 2022 from OPOROLDOJ.
According to the BBC report, America gets 30 times more opioid painkillers than its need.
In 2017, US President Donald Trump made Opioid crisis "National shame" It was declared and declared a public health emergency. Now in his second term, he has threatened to impose 25% tariffs on imports from Canada and Mexico, if they fail to stop the supply of Phantanel in the US.
Sujatrigin can prove to be a game-changer painkiller, as it is effective in preventing opioid addiction as well as relieving pain. However, its expensive price can be a big challenge. But if this drug is widely available, then it can prove to be helpful in reducing opioid crisis.
