NEW YORK, Jan. 31 (Xinhua) -- U.S. federal officials have approved a new type of pain pill designed to eliminate the risks of addiction and overdose associated with opioid medications like Vicodin and OxyContin.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) said on Thursday it approved Vertex Pharmaceuticals' Journavx for short-term pain that often follows surgery or injuries.

"It's the first new pharmaceutical approach to treating pain in more than 20 years, offering an alternative to both opioids and over-the-counter medications like ibuprofen and acetaminophen," reported The Associated Press about the development.

But the medication's modest effectiveness and lengthy development process underscore the challenges of finding new ways to manage pain, it noted.

Studies in more than 870 patients with acute pain due to foot and abdominal surgeries showed Vertex's drug provided more relief than a dummy pill but didn't outperform a common opioid-acetaminophen combination pill, it added. Enditem

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