[dewitt]

> "There's no reason for this to be a NYT link."

I respectfully disagree. The NYT paid the author, Gina Kolata, to research and write the story, which contains more details than just the press release alone, then used their platform to made the news widely available and thus helped people like me discover it.

As cynical as one may be about the state of contemporary journalism, I'd say that short articles like this are still something good that comes out of newspapers in 2025, and I hope it doesn't go away just yet.

[benrapscallion]

Given how late in the article it is mentioned that the drug was indistinguishable from placebo, this NYT article may well have been commissioned by Vertex.

[1] https://www.science.org/content/blog-post/pain-comes-territo...

[exabrial]

> Side effects of suzetrigine reported by patients were similar to the ones reported by those taking the placebo

If this is what you're referring to, note the article is talking about the side effects.

Not trying to say I'm for/against the drug, just wanted to point a possible incorrect conclusion.

[cbhl]

My impression is that the "indistinguishable from placebo" is only in reference to a study on people with Sciatica, but that a different study did show a statistically-significant effect on post-surgical pain.

$465 USD for a 15-day supply definitely pricey -- but options for people who weren't well-served by Purdue Pharma / OxyContin seem good, especially if the mechanism of action is different.

[giarc]

For those without a NYT subscription, a link to the press release is handy.

[owlninja]

Here is a free link for anyone:

https://www.nytimes.com/2025/01/30/health/fda-journavx-suzet...

[whamlastxmas]

Journalism on science and medicine gets more things wrong than right.

[Dalewyn]

Middlemen like town criers and nowadays "journalists" were useful when distributing information en masse quickly was a tremendous if not next to impossible logistical challenge.

Today when anyone can get information straight from the source instantly, we do not need these middlemen. There is no reason for this to be an NYT link, nor any other middleman link.

The less players there are in the game of telephone the more accurate the information will be.

[thomassmith65]

Many news stories require domain expertise to understand.

If there's a news item involving Brazilian law, or a new Aluminum alloy, or a newly identified virus, then I likely wouldn't understand the raw data.

Middlemen are valuable to the extent either that they are knowledgeable about a topic, or have the resources to consult someone knowledgeable.

[none4methx]

We can’t get the information from the source unless we know it’s there. That’s the service an algorithm will invisibly produce for us even after we murder the last logo between us and The News