Roger-Luc Chayer (Image : AI / Gay Globe)
One of the terrible problems facing our society today is the use of street drugs or, sometimes, prescription medications that are narcotics. These addictions destroy lives, and this can be seen in most major cities around the world. In Montreal as in Paris, in San Francisco as in Moscow, the streets are filled with people who have lost everything because of their addictions, particularly to opioids.
But what were opioids originally intended for?
Originally, opioids were not intended to create addiction or destroy lives. Their primary function is medical: to relieve pain, sometimes very powerfully, particularly after surgery, in cases of serious injuries, or in certain cases of chronic illness and palliative care. Morphine, for example, has been used for centuries to control severe pain. Other opioids, such as oxycodone, hydromorphone, or fentanyl, were developed to meet specific medical needs. The problem arises when their use goes beyond the medical setting, particularly because of their high potential for addiction and misuse.
Lawsuits Against the Pharmaceutical Industry
The opioid crisis has also led to an unprecedented wave of lawsuits against manufacturers, distributors, and pharmacies in the United States. States, municipalities, Indigenous communities, and families have accused certain companies of contributing to the explosion of addiction by aggressively marketing prescription opioids, downplaying their risks, or failing to adequately control their distribution.
The case of Purdue Pharma, manufacturer of OxyContin, has become emblematic. The company and members of the Sackler family have been the subject of numerous civil and criminal proceedings. In 2026, a $7.4 billion settlement with Purdue and the Sackler family became legally effective. The funds are intended, among other things, to finance prevention, treatment, and recovery programs related to addiction.
Other industry giants have also reached settlements. Distributors McKesson, Cardinal Health, and AmerisourceBergen notably agreed to payments of up to $21 billion, accompanied by measures intended to better detect suspicious opioid orders.
These lawsuits have therefore transformed the opioid crisis into a gigantic legal battle, in which billions of dollars are now being devoted to trying to repair the damage caused by decades of addiction.
Unfortunately, it doesn’t work!
We will not be able to easily free people who are victims of opioid addiction from their dependence. But, quietly, medical research has done its homework and a new avenue is emerging: suzetrigine.
What Is Suzetrigine?
Suzetrigine is a new non-opioid painkiller, marketed in the United States under the name Journavx by Vertex Pharmaceuticals. The FDA approved it on January 30, 2025, to treat moderate to severe acute pain in adults.
Its importance is particularly significant in the context of the opioid crisis: unlike morphine, oxycodone, or fentanyl, suzetrigine does not work by activating opioid receptors in the brain. It acts much further upstream by selectively blocking a sodium channel called NaV1.8, which is present in peripheral neurons that transmit pain signals. It therefore prevents some of these signals from reaching the spinal cord and brain.
This is therefore a completely different approach from that of opioids. One of the great hopes is to be able to treat certain significant pain without exposing patients to the risks of addiction, overdose, and abuse associated with opioids. The FDA also points out that this medication represents the first approval of a new class of non-opioid analgesics.
It is important to be precise, however: suzetrigine is not a treatment for opioid addiction. Rather, it represents a new option for treating pain without resorting to opioids, which could help reduce their use. To date, its approved indication concerns acute pain, and not chronic pain or opioid withdrawal.
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