| Let's say you just had surgery. You're hurting because our bodies have a complex system of detecting pain and sending that message to your brain. To help provide relief, doctors have long prescribed opioids like hydrocodone or fentanyl. The problem is that opioids also work in your brain, creating feelings of euphoria and then withdrawal. That's led to widespread opioid addiction, one of America's biggest public-health crises. In 2021 alone, opioids were involved in more than 80,000 overdose deaths. Now, a drug manufacturer, Vertex Pharmaceuticals, is getting closer to offering an alternative. Its new pill blocks those pain signals from traveling to the brain. By doing so, Vertex believes it will ease your suffering without the risk of addiction. This week, the company got more validation. Results of a pivotal study found that Vertex's drug, VX-548, met its goal of reducing pain more than a placebo during the 48 hours after surgery. In separate trial results that were revealed in December, the same drug helped patients with chronic nerve pain caused by diabetes. If approved, analysts expect Vertex's pain pills will eventually generate billions of dollars in sales. The market for treating acute pain, which lasts for a shorter duration than chronic pain, is large. More than 80 million people in the US suffer from acute pain episodes every year, according to Vertex. Yet there hasn't been a new non-opioid drug to treat acute pain in over two decades. It hasn't taken so long because the biology was a mystery. Scientists have long known that the key to developing a nonaddictive painkiller lies with blocking certain sodium channels in what's called the Nav family. They help control activity in the body's neurons and send a signal to the brain when you're in pain. Studies have found that a mutation linked to one of these channels can lead to an insensitivity to pain. Instead, the industry's long dry spell has been a chemistry problem. Over the years, drug makers have struggled to find a molecule specific enough to only block the two key channels — Nav1.7 and Nav1.8. With positive trial results in hand, Vertex plans to file for the drug's approval this year. It could get approved by the middle of 2025. But the company will still have to convince doctors to prescribe it, even though it failed to reduce pain more than an opioid in the trial. Some analysts say the drug's relatively modest results will make it hard to displace low-cost opioids in a hospital setting where they've become a standard treatment after surgery. Vertex hopes new policies will create incentives to prescribe its drug instead. Next year, a new law called the No Pain Act will take effect, expanding access to non-opioid alternatives for outpatient surgeries. Many states have passed laws limiting opioid prescriptions for acute pain. On a call with analysts Tuesday, Vertex Chief Executive Officer Reshma Kewalramani said its pill will fill a gap in the current treatment options, which either aren't very effective or come with the risk of addiction. "One need look no further than the opioid crisis in America to recognize the gravity of this situation," she said. — Gerry Smith | 
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