Vertex Pharmaceuticals ( VRTX 2.53%) has long been known as the company to turn to for life-saving cystic fibrosis (CF) drugs, and this platform has helped it generate billions of dollars in earnings. But Vertex now is showing that it also can be a game changer when it comes to treating one of the most common of health problems -- pain.

If the attention generated by BioSpace’s coverage of this landmark approval is any indication, Americans are hungry for non-opioid pain treatments that could help quell the still raging opioid epidemic.

Shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals gained about 6% Friday morning, after the pharmaceutical company won U.S. approval for the [first new non-opioid painkiller in decades](

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ: VRTX) just snagged its second U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval in only 41 days. On Dec. 20, 2024, the FDA gave a thumbs-up to Alyftrek in treating cystic fibrosis (CF).

The FDA's approval of the non-addictive painkiller Journavx last week marked a milestone in the field of pain management. Why it matters: Millions of Americans with acute and chronic pain are prescribed opioids,

On Jan. 30, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved a new drug called suzetrigine to treat moderate-to-severe pain. The prescription pills, sold under the brand name Journavx and made by Vertex Pharmaceuticals,

The United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved a new non-opioid prescription medication, Journavx (suzetrigine), for adults with moderate to severe acute pain. Developed by Vertex Pharmaceuticals,