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Articles

A conversation with Greg Mitchell, owner of United Drug Superstore in Hatch, New Mexico, at AAP 2025.

Q&A: Strategic Vaccine Management Can Drive Pharmacy Success | AAP 2025

Researchers conducted a review of adherence behaviors for patients with dermatological diseases and provided an update on management strategies. 

Nonadherence Remains Common Concern in Dermatology

Glucagon-like peptide-1 medications are the fastest-growing class of medication and will continue to be prevalent as more indications, such as sleep apnea, are added. 

GLP-1 Medications Continue to Increase Market Growth | Asembia 2025

In the first episode of the podcast, Jennifer Goldman and Hailey Choi discuss the latest FDA updates around compounded weight loss medications, clinical concerns and how pharmacists can protect their patients.

Wicked Good Cardiometabolic Chat: Compounded Weight Loss Medications

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Clinical

Vitamin D supplementation may be an effective and safe adjunctive prophylactic therapy to topiramate for children who experience migraine attacks, showed a study conducted in Saudi Arabia.



How Vitamin D Can Help Migraines In Young Patients

The number of digital therapeutics available for migraine is likely to expand. 

Digital Therapies Poised for Breakthrough in Migraine Treatment

Throughout the entire 21st century, the treatment of chronic and acute pain has faced controversy because of a lack in pharmacological options to improve patients’ symptoms. With suzetrigine’s 2025 approval being the first in over 26 years, research on non-pharmacological interventions to alleviate pain has garnered increased focus because of the innovation among new technology.

“We don't have many new pain medications on the market,” said Chris Robinson, MD, PhD. “In terms of interventional treatments, we have a lot of them.”

Robinson is Director of Pain and Headache Rounds at Harvard-Massachusetts General Hospital and is a section editor with the 

 to discuss an article that he co-authored titled “The Future of Pain Medicine: Emerging Technologies, Treatments, and Education.”

“Someday, I would love to cure pain, but I think we have to understand what is pain, why it's there, and not have our hopes up that we think we can get 100% pain relief,” continued Robinson. “Our bodies do degenerate, and we have to understand that. My goal, and especially with these newer technologies, is to use it to mitigate pain in the present moment.”

Listen to our full-length conversation with Robinson as he discusses multiple new technologies that are breaking through within areas of pain medicine. From novel therapeutic options like psychedelics to increasingly familiar tech like artificial intelligence, many interventions for treating chronic are being explored, while pharmacological alternatives are failing to keep up.

Stay tuned for weekly podcast episodes on 

 every Thursday afternoon. Check out our previous episode with 

Pharmacy practice is always changing. Stay ahead of the curve: Sign up for our 

 and get the latest drug information, industry trends, and patient care tips, straight to your inbox.

Slitzky M, Yong RJ, Lo Bianco G, et al. The future of pain medicine: emerging technologies, treatments, and education. 

. 2024 Aug 30;17:2833-2836. doi: 10.2147/JPR.S490581.

With minimal pharmacological treatments coming to market for chronic pain, researchers have explored new technologies for advancing pain treatment across the globe.

What Does the Future of Pain Medicine Look Like?

The new approval is the first nonopioid option for moderate to severe acute pain in adults.

FDA Approves Nonopioid Pain Medication in Novel Class for Treatment of Acute Pain

Pharmacists are well positioned to screen for diversion, monitor for opioid use disorder, and educate patients on opioid-related risks.

First-in-Class Drug Approval for Acute Pain Highlights Need for Nonopioid Therapies

There were no statistically significant differences between cognitive behavioral therapy and mindfulness-based therapy in reducing the dosage for chronic lower back pain.

Cognitive Behavioral, Mindfulness Therapies Reduce Daily Dosage of Opioid Use for Chronic Back Pain

Traditional approaches have typically relied on oral medications, which can expose the entire body to potentially harmful adverse effects.

Q&A: Topical Analgesics Are Often Underutilized in Pain Management | APhA 2025

According to poison control data, many children aged 0 to 17 experience toxicity from over-the-counter analgesics like ibuprofen and acetaminophen.

OTC Analgesic Toxicity Common Among Children

Topical Analgesics are typically safer options for pain management

Expert Discusses Topical Analgesics for Pain

Topical analgesics represent a promising and often underutilized approach to pain management, offering patients a targeted and safer alternative to systemic medications. Jeffrey Gudin, MD, faculty in the department of anesthesiology and pain management at the University of Miami, highlights the challenges of treating painful conditions, emphasizing that musculoskeletal and nerve injuries can be particularly difficult to address. Recent guidelines from the American College of Physicians and American Academy of Family Physicians now recommend topical analgesics as a first-line treatment for non-low back musculoskeletal pain, marking a significant shift in pain management strategies.

He explores the diverse range of topical analgesics available, including anti-inflammatory agents, local anesthetics, and heat-producing compounds like capsaicin and menthol. These products offer distinct advantages, primarily their ability to target specific pain areas with minimal systemic exposure. Gudin notes that topical treatments typically have blood concentration levels of 1/20 to 1/100 of oral medications, significantly reducing potential adverse effects. Pharmacists play a crucial role in guiding patients through product selection, understanding that pain relief often requires a trial-and-error approach.

A key takeaway is the importance of multi-modal analgesia, which involves using smaller doses of different medications to maximize pain relief while minimizing adverse effects. This approach extends beyond medication, incorporating physical therapy, occupational therapy, behavioral strategies, and sleep modification. Gudin emphasizes that patients should not become discouraged if one topical analgesic doesn't work, but instead try alternative formulations. The primary goal is to reduce reliance on oral medications, particularly opioids, by providing targeted, effective pain management that prioritizes patient safety and comfort.

"The treatment of painful conditions can be very challenging. We have different types of pain, acute pain and chronic pain, and different causes for pain, musculoskeletal injuries and nerve injuries of the sort, and it's very difficult for patients," Gudin said. "We have over-the-counter acetaminophen, we have aspirin and nonsteroidal products, and topical analgesics are used all over the world to treat things like musculoskeletal and nerve pain conditions."

Read more from our coverage of the American Pharmacists Association 2025 Annual Meeting and Exposition

Videos

Jeffrey Gudin, MD, faculty in the department of anesthesiology and pain management at the University of Miami, said topical analgesics are safer alternatives to systemic medications.

Expert Discusses Topical Analgesics as First-Line Treatment of Pain | APhA 2025

Madison Irwin, PharmD, BCPS, discusses the importance of suzetrigine’s approval in the pain management space and potential challenges or barriers in its adoption.

What Pharmacists Need to Know About Suzetrigine for Pain Management

In January, the FDA approved Vertex’s suzetrigine (Journavx) for the treatment of moderate to severe acute pain in adult patients.

The therapy, which is a nonopioid, selective NaV1.8 pain signal inhibitor, is the first new class of medicine approved to treat acute pain in over 20 years.

The approval of suzetrigine was based on data from a phase 3 program that included 2 randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trials, and a single arm safety and effectiveness study. Data from the program showed treatment with suzetrigine resulted in statistically significant improvement in pain intensity and that the therapy had a favorable safety and tolerability profile.

At the time of the approval, Jacqueline Corrigan-Curay, JD, MD, acting director of the FDA's Center for Drug Evaluation and Research, said suzetrigine’s approval was an important public health milestone in the management of acute pain.

 She added that the new therapy gives patients another treatment option that can help mitigate certain risks associated with using opioids.

 sat down with Madison Irwin, PharmD, BCPS, a clinical pharmacist specialist in palliative care at University of Michigan Health and a clinical assistant professor at University of Michigan College of Pharmacy, to discuss the importance of suzetrigine’s approval in the pain management space, potential challenges or barriers in the adoption of suzetrigine, and important things about suzetrigine that pharmacists should be aware of.

“It’s exciting to have another analgesic option available in the acute pain space,” Irwin said. “Right now, we have acetaminophen, NSAIDs, opioids and local anesthetics like lidocaine. Each of those have their own risks and limitations of use based on a patients renal and hepatic function and other comorbidities. This expands that arsenal. It seems to be pretty well tolerated and that is always good to see in terms of a side effect and safety profile.”

1. Vertex Announces FDA Approval of JOURNAVX

 (suzetrigine), a First-in-Class Treatment for Adults With Moderate-to-Severe Acute Pain. News Release. Vertex. January 30, 2025. Accessed January 30, 2025. 

https://investors.vrtx.com/news-releases/news-release-details/vertex-announces-fda-approval-journavxtm-suzetrigine-first-class

2. FDA Approves Novel Non-Opioid Treatment for Moderate to Severe Acute Pain. News Release. FDA. January 30, 2025. Accessed January 30, 2025. https://www.fda.gov/news-events/press-announcements/fda-approves-novel-non-opioid-treatment-moderate-severe-acute-pain

Albert Dahan, MD, PhD, talks about the first-in-class dual-NMR agonist cebranopadol.

Could an Investigational Therapy Help Fill the Gap in Pain Management?

In the field of pain management, there are many gaps that continue to exist and adequate pain management is often not achieved. When pain is not sufficiently managed, it can lead to negative long-term effects on a patient’s physiological and psychological health.

 Higher pain intensity and frequency can also develop into chronic pain, which currently impacts around 20% of adults in the United States.

Opioids have been considered an essential medication for pain management, but they do carry significant risk. Research has shown that there is a lack of data to support long-term benefits of opioids for chronic pain.

 That data also showed that long-term use of prescribed opioids put patients at a higher risk of overdose and opioid misuse. This is why other medications that do not carry the risk of severe side effects are needed.

Tris Pharma, a biopharmaceutical company working on drug development for ADHD, pain and addiction, recently presented data from a clinical study on cebranopadol, a first-in-class dual-NMR agonist that targets the nociceptin/orphanin FQ receptor and the µ-opioid receptor. Data showed that the therapy produces potent and prolonged analgesia with 25% less respiratory depression than oxycodone.

 The company believes cebranopadol could be a “potentially transformational new pain therapy.”

 recently talked with Albert Dahan, MD, PhD, professor of anesthesiology at Leiden University Medical Center and a researcher on the cebranopadol study, about what cebranopadol is and how it’s different from traditional opioids, how it will fit into the broader landscape of pain management therapies, current gaps that exist in pain management and how the therapy might help address them, and what the next steps are for cebranopadol.

“I’m writing currently a paper on psychedelics and pain management,” Dahan said. “People use that. Why do they use that? Psychedelics are not at all drugs that you would like to use because they have psychedelic side effects: disassociation, hallucinations. The reason is, we don’t have drugs that are safe. We don’t have drugs that allow the patient to experience profound pain relief without side effects. People except these side effects because they think they’re safe…I really believe—I’ve done 2 studies [on cebranopadol] that were both quite good—that we’re reaching an area that is very interesting.”

1. Varsi C, Ledel Solem IK, Eide H, et al. Health care providers' experiences of pain management and attitudes towards digitally supported self-management interventions for chronic pain: a qualitative study. BMC Health Serv Res. 2021 Mar 25;21(1):275. doi: 10.1186/s12913-021-06278-7. PMID: 33766028; PMCID: PMC7992849.

2. Rikard SM, Strahan AE, Schmit KM, et al. Chronic Pain Among Adults — United States, 2019–2021. MMWR Morb Mortal Wkly Rep 2023;72:379–385. DOI: 

3. Dowell D, Ragan KR, Jones CM, Baldwin GT, Chou R. CDC Clinical Practice Guideline for Prescribing Opioids for Pain 

 United States, 2022. MMWR Recomm Rep 2022;71(No. RR-3):1–95. DOI: 

4. Findings Presented at PAINWeek 2024 Demonstrate Tris Pharma’s Investigational, First-in-Class Therapy Cebranopadol Provides Potent, Prolonged Pain Relief with Improved Safety Over Oxycodone. News Release. Tris Pharma. September 3, 2024. Accessed September 12, 2024.

Albert Dahan, MD, PhD, professor of anesthesiology at Leiden University Medical Center, talks about the first-in-class dual-NMR agonist cebranopadol.

Nonopioid Pain Management

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