Lexicon Pharmaceuticals Publishes “Relief is Possible: Ensuring Access to Effective Treatments for Chronic Pain”
-White Paper based on October 2025 Roundtable of diverse stakeholders focused on accelerating innovation and expanding access to novel non-opioid therapies-
-Need for swift action by policymakers to support millions of Americans suffering from chronic pain-
THE WOODLANDS, Texas, Jan. 09, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- In October 2025, (Nasdaq: LXRX) convened an in-person Roundtable in Washington, D.C., to better understand the unmet needs of people living with chronic pain and identify what more can be done to benefit patients and society at large. The White Paper summarizing the findings, titled “Relief is Possible: Ensuring Access to Effective Treatments for Chronic Pain,” is available as a free download .
Chronic pain affects one in four American adults and is one of the leading causes of disability, driving direct medical spending, disability claims, and lost productivity each year. Chronic pain costs the United States more than $720 billion annually, including an estimated $190 billion in lost worker productivity1. More than 20 million people suffer from high-impact chronic pain that disrupts daily activities and makes working difficult or impossible. For many years, opioids have been the default treatment option for severe pain, leaving patients and clinicians to navigate the tradeoff between meaningful relief and significant risks of drug diversion, addiction, and overdose.
The Relief of Chronic Pain Act, recently introduced in the U.S. Senate, would ensure Medicare coverage for non-opioid medications specifically indicated for certain chronic pain conditions. It would also reduce or eliminate several barriers that often block timely access to needed care.
“We are exploring with partners how to add chronic pain to the legislative agenda, and how to help policymakers and payers prioritize new methods of pain relief,” said Mike Exton, Ph.D., Lexicon’s chief executive officer and director. “We believe that non-opioid treatments are going to be incredibly important, not only for the patient, but for society at large.”
Achieving meaningful progress will require a coalition of patients, caregivers, clinicians, patient advocacy groups, professional societies, and others. Swift action to expand access to safe, effective, non-opioid treatments for the more than 60 million Americans living with chronic pain is necessary to achieve progress.
Chronic pain does not discriminate based on demographics and political viewpoints. It affects rural, suburban, and urban communities alike. It impacts every generation. Addressing it must be a bipartisan, nationwide effort—one that reflects the best of what America can accomplish.
Click to download “Relief is Possible: Ensuring Access to Effective Treatments for Chronic Pain”
About Lexicon Pharmaceuticals
Lexicon is a biopharmaceutical company with a mission of pioneering medicines that transform patients’ lives. Through the Genome5000™ program, Lexicon’s unique genomics target discovery platform, Lexicon scientists studied the role and function of nearly 5,000 genes and identified more than 100 protein targets with significant therapeutic potential in a range of diseases. Through the precise targeting of these proteins, Lexicon is pioneering the discovery and development of innovative medicines to safely and effectively treat disease. Lexicon has advanced multiple medicines to market and has a pipeline of promising drug candidates in discovery and clinical and preclinical development in heart failure, neuropathic pain, obesity, cardiology, diabetes and other indications. For additional information, please visit .
References
1Guy GP Jr, et al. Economic costs of chronic pain—United States, 2021. Med Care. 2025 Sep. Available from: /40730349/
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Lisa DeFrancesco
Lexicon Pharmaceuticals, Inc.
