Vertex Pharma scientist talks about the long road to developing non-addictive painkillers

For decades, patients seeking medication for pain have had two choices: over-the-counter drugs like aspirin or powerful prescription opioids like oxycodone.

Opioid prescriptions have plummeted over the last decade as doctors have become more attuned to the risks of addiction and misuse during the country’s ongoing drug epidemic.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals recently reported positive results for a non-opioid painkiller, one of several taking the drug after surgery experienced more pain relief than those getting a placebo, although the drug didn’t meet a secondary goal of outperforming treatment with an opioid.