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The following is a summary of “Suzetrigine, a Non-Opioid NaV1.8 Inhibitor With Broad Applicability for Moderate-to-Severe Acute Pain: A Phase 3 Single-Arm Study for Surgical or Non-Surgical Acute Pain,” published in the March 2025 issue of Journal of Pain Research by McCoun et al. 

Suzetrigine, a selective Na_V 1.8 inhibitor, showed promise as a non-opioid option for managing moderate-to-severe acute pain without CNS side effects or addiction risk.  

Researchers conducted a retrospective study to estimate the safety and effectiveness of suzetrigine for managing moderate-to-severe acute surgical and non-surgical pain.  

They assessed adults with moderate or severe acute pain, defined by a verbal categorical rating scale and a numeric pain rating scale score of ≥4, following surgery or new-onset pain requiring medical attention. Participants received suzetrigine (100 mg initial dose, then 50 mg every 12 hours) for up to 14 days or until pain resolution. The primary endpoint was safety, and the secondary endpoint assessed participants’ perception of suzetrigine’s effectiveness using a patient global assessment at treatment completion.  

The results showed that suzetrigine was generally safe and well-tolerated in participants (N=256) with various surgical and non-surgical acute pain conditions. Adverse events were mostly mild (71 participants; 27.7%) or moderate (21 participants; 8.2%) in severity. Most participants (213 participants; 83.2%) rated suzetrigine’s effectiveness for pain management as good, very good, or excellent on the patient global assessment.  

Investigators concluded that suzetrigine demonstrated a safe and effective non-opioid approach for treating moderate-to-severe acute pain. 

Source: dovepress.com/suzetrigine-a-non-opioid-nav18-inhibitor-with-broad-applicability-for–peer-reviewed-fulltext-article-JPR