One participant in the drug trial for Journavx said it eliminated her pain without making her feel loopy or nauseous, which she says she experienced when taking opioids.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved a new non-opioid pain medication developed by the Massachusetts-based company Vertex Pharmaceuticals on Thursday. The drug, which is called suzetrigine and will be sold under the brand name Journavx, is the first new type of pain medicine approved by the agency in more than 20 years.

The prescription pills, sold under the brand name Journavx and made by Vertex Pharmaceuticals, are taken twice a day and represent the first new class of pain medications in 20 years—and the first non-opioid painkiller since that class first appeared on the market in the 1980s.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved Thursday a new type of prescription pain medication for moderate to severe acute pain for adults.

A new non-opioid painkiller, JournaVX, has received approval from the FDA, marking the first new type of pain medication in 25 years. Developed by Vertex Pharmaceuticals, JournaVX is designed to treat moderate to severe acute pain in adults.

The new non-opioid drug has been approved for the treatment of severe pain, such as that following surgery or an injury.

The drug, shown to be almost as effective as opioids for short-term pain, is the first fundamentally new kind of painkiller to win FDA approval in more than 20 years.

The Food and Drug Administration announced the approval of a new non-opioid pain medication this week, marking the first time in over two decades that the agency has approved a non-opioid pain drug with a novel mechanism of action.

The drug, suzetrigine, will be sold under the brand name Journavx and is the first new class of pain medicine approved in more than 20 years.

Shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals rose after Journavx, the company’s oral non-opioid pain medication, received Food and Drug Administration approval.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has approved Vertex Pharmaceuticals' drug to treat acute pain, the health regulator said on Thursday, offering a first-of-its-kind alternative to addictive opioid painkillers that have fueled a national crisis.