The US FDA has approved suzetrigine, a first-in-class non-opioid analgesic, for treating moderate to severe acute pain in adults. Suzetrigine reduces pain by blocking a pain-signaling pathway involving sodium channels in the peripheral nervous system before pain signals reach the brain. Clinical evidence The efficacy of suzetrigine was evaluated in two clinical trials involving adult patients with moderate to severe acute pain following abdominoplasty (n = 1,118) and bunionectomy (n = 1,073). In both trials, suzetrigine significantly reduced pain and improved the Sum of the Pain Intensity Difference from 0 to 48 hours (SPID48) scores compared with placebo.
Notably, suzetrigine achieved meaningful pain relief faster than placebo (abdominoplasty trial: 119 vs. 480 minutes and bunionectomy trial: 240 vs. 480 minutes). However, suzetrigine was not superior to hydrocodone…
