Although suvorexant, which has not yet been submitted to the Food and Drug Administration for approval, promises to be a valuable addition to the sleep therapy arsenal, "medications in the management of insomnia can only go so far," Dr. Thorpy stressed. "Some of the more important therapies are behavioral. No sleep pill will work with someone who has bad sleep hygiene or sleep/wake cycle issues. For optimal efficacy, all medications should be used in combination with behavioral interventions."
Dr. Krystal is a consultant to Merck, which funded both trials. Dr. Thorpy said that he had no relevant conflicts of interest.
* Correction, 6/21/12: An earlier version of this story implied that Dr. Andrew D. Krystal presented the results of the two trials described in the article. He was an investigator for the studies, but did not present them.