A non-addictive opioid painkiller could be on the market by 2017, according to the National Council of Alcoholism and Drug Dependence, Inc (NCADD). The NCADD is reporting that about a dozen non-addictive opioids are in development, including CR845. This particular drug was created by Cara Therapeutics, a pharmaceutical company that hopes to have the drug approved by the Federal Drug Administration sometime in 2017.

CR845 is a safer medication compared to other opioids. This is because it never enters a patient’s brain because it works on different nerve-ending receptors. Because it works differently than traditional pain medications, it does not have the addictive quality.

An opioid researcher from the Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center in New York believes that a non-addictive opioid would be a major help in fighting addiction. However, others are not as excited for the drug. Executive Director of the Kentucky Office of Drug Control Policy, Van Ingram, is skeptical, stating that in the past he was told OxyContin was not addictive as well.

If the drug is approved by the Food and Drug Administration, it could potentially start to replace all addictive painkillers, thus reducing the risk of addiction and overdoses.