Journavx is the first and only approved non-opioid oral painkiller and the first new class of pain medicine approved in more than 20 years.

Shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Inc. surged ahead of Friday’s market open after the Food and Drug Administration approved the company’s non-opioid pain treatment.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has approved Vertex Pharmaceuticals' drug to treat acute pain, the health regulator said on Thursday, offering a first-of-its-kind alternative to addictive opioid painkillers that have fueled a national crisis.