This month, Floris van Tol, VP Business Development, represented SentryX on the panel "Policy in Practice: How New Government Reforms Are Reshaping National Healthcare" at the Opal Investing in Healthcare conference in New York.

The FDA's recent push to accelerate non-opioid therapies is a clear signal of where healthcare innovation is heading, including approaches like the surgical pain blockers SentryX is developing. This matters in particular for postoperative pain, where opioids are still widely prescribed after major surgery, despite mounting evidence that early exposure increases the risk of longer-term use or dependence. For many patients, that first exposure happens in the hospital, which makes postoperative pain management not only a clinical issue, but a public-health issue.

Against this backdrop, it is encouraging to see policy developments in the U.S., including the FDA's increased focus on accelerating innovative non-opioid technologies, becoming part of the broader policy conversation.

We appreciated the perspectives shared by Nadav Shimoni, M.D., Patrick Hanaway and Oliver Libby on how government can help shape healthcare, and thank Jack Kalavritikos for moderating a discussion that felt like a real conversation.