(WXYZ) — The pharmaceutical company Vertex revealed promising data on an experimental drug that could be a potential non-addictive alternative to opioids.
The company plans to seek approval from the Food and Drug Administration for the drug in mid-2024 for treating “moderate-to-severe acute pain.”
Patients might soon have access to a brand-new type of pain medicine. If it gets FDA approval, it’ll be the first in over two decades. The drug is currently called VX-548. Details released by Vertex noted that treatment with its new drug led to “statistically significant improvement in pain compared to placebo.”
In clinical trials, Vertex enrolled around 1,100 patients who had recently undergone two different surgeries – abdominoplasty, which is a tummy tuck, and bunionectomy, which is the procedure to correct bunions and straighten toes.
Patients were given either the new drug, a placebo or Vicodin, and their post-operation pain was evaluated over 48 hours.
Here’s what researchers found: the new drug, VX-548, performed better than the placebo and scored similarly to Vicodin. Using the Numeric Pain Rating Scale, tummy tuck patients experienced a pain reduction of 47% for VX-548 and 43% for Vicodin. For those who had bunion surgeries, it was 51% for VX-548 and 53% with Vicodin.
Now, you might be wondering about safety and, more importantly, whether you can get addicted to new drugs like opioids. Well, the new oral medication works differently than opiate-based painkillers. Instead of acting in the brain and spinal cord, VX-548 blocks pain signals in the peripheral nervous system.
It focuses on the sodium channel NaV1.8, which plays a role in pain signaling in the peripheral nervous system.
As for safety results, the studies have found VX-548 to be generally safe and well-tolerated. The most common side effects were nausea or constipation.
We definitely need an alternative to opioid medications because around 3 million Americans and 16 million people worldwide have faced or are currently suffering from opioid-use disorder. So hopefully, the trials for VX-548 will continue to go well. And if approved by the FDA later this year, patients will have a new drug without addictive potential.
THIS WEEK ON 'THE DR. NANDI SHOW'
Sexual abuse against children is a global problem that transcends borders and social strata. Shockingly, the World Health Organization reported that 1 in 5 women and 1 in 13 men have experienced childhood sexual abuse. Nevertheless, the actual extent of sexual violence remains hidden due to stigma, fear, shame and a lack of trust in authorities. In this episode, Dr. Partha Nandi, MD, speaks with two women who were sexually abused by family members and a neighbor. Experts also discuss the warning signs of abuse and the distinction between a pedophile and a child molester. Tune in this Saturday, Feb. 3 at noon.
