Prognosis

Vertex to Advance Non-Opioid Pain Therapy After Positive Results

Photographer: Andrew Brookes/Cultura RF/Getty Images
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Vertex Pharmaceuticals Inc. took a step toward a new form of non-opioid pain treatment, advancing development of an experimental therapy that met its main goal in two studies.

The treatment aims to inhibit a component of the body’s pain signaling system. If proven effective, the approach could offer a new way to treat pain without the risk of addiction that comes with opioid treatments that have been linked to thousands of U.S. deaths annually. The company plans to move the therapy into the final stage of trials in the second half of the year.