New Anti-Addiction Drug Receives FDA Approval
New Anti-Addiction Drug
Receives FDA Approval
Doctor have a new tool available to help in their treatment of drug addicts, as the FDA on Tuesday announced their approval of a new injectable medicine called Vivitrol, which claims to help patients addicted to various opiates overcome their addictions. The drug was designed to help manage addictions to illegal drugs like heroin, as well as patients who develop addictions to powerful painkillers like morphine and OxyContin.
Vivitrol is a time-release version of a drug known as naltrexone, which works by blocking brain receptors from responding to opiates. Without the normal internal reward, the body's craving for the drug is circumvented.
IN approving the drug, the FDA considered a single controlled study conducted in Russia, which concluded that Vivitrol was 50 percent more effective than a placebo in keeping opiate addicts clean for a five month period. A number of addiction specialists, however, were already familiar with the drug, as it has already been approved for treating alcoholism, and was thus previously available “off-label” for other uses.
Practically, Vivitrol will be unavailable to the vast majority of addicts, as the majority of insurance companies are unlikely to cover the $1,000 monthly shot price tag; treatment with the drug is expected to last a year or more. A well-respected expert in addiction treatment acknowledged that cost is a huge hurdle for most addicts, but says the FDA approval on Tuesday should raise the drug's availability.
The quality of treatment for drug addiction varies widely, usually depending on what a patient is able to afford. However, the basic approach to opiate addiction is the same for the wealthy and the impoverished: group therapy, a 12 step program in some cases, and sometimes replacement therapy, a type of treatment that replaces the drug the patient is addicted to with a different drug like methadi=one that leaves the patient a little more clear-headed, yet still addicted.
Naltrexone is available in pill form, but experts say the daily medication is not as effective in the long term. There exists an overwhelming need for better addiction treatment options. Federal statistics on addiction show a 12 percent increase in the number of people addicted to opiates between 2008 and 2009. And the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention report that the number of emergency room visits linked to painkillers more than doubled between 2004 and 2008. Doctor-prescribed narcotics are associated with 12 times the number of ER visits as heroin.
Doctors caution that Vivitrol is not a magic addiction cure. They recommend that it be used in conjunction with a braoder treatment plan that includes counseling.
Doctor have a new tool available to help in their treatment of drug addicts, as the FDA on Tuesday announced their approval of a new injectable medicine called Vivitrol, which claims to help patients addicted to various opiates overcome their addictions. The drug was designed to help manage addictions to illegal drugs like heroin, as well as patients who develop addictions to powerful painkillers like morphine and OxyContin.
Vivitrol is a time-release version of a drug known as naltrexone, which works by blocking brain receptors from responding to opiates. Without the normal internal reward, the body's craving for the drug is circumvented.
IN approving the drug, the FDA considered a single controlled study conducted in Russia, which concluded that Vivitrol was 50 percent more effective than a placebo in keeping opiate addicts clean for a five month period. A number of addiction specialists, however, were already familiar with the drug, as it has already been approved for treating alcoholism, and was thus previously available “off-label” for other uses.
Practically, Vivitrol will be unavailable to the vast majority of addicts, as the majority of insurance companies are unlikely to cover the $1,000 monthly shot price tag; treatment with the drug is expected to last a year or more. A well-respected expert in addiction treatment acknowledged that cost is a huge hurdle for most addicts, but says the FDA approval on Tuesday should raise the drug's availability.
The quality of treatment for drug addiction varies widely, usually depending on what a patient is able to afford. However, the basic approach to opiate addiction is the same for the wealthy and the impoverished: group therapy, a 12 step program in some cases, and sometimes replacement therapy, a type of treatment that replaces the drug the patient is addicted to with a different drug like methadi=one that leaves the patient a little more clear-headed, yet still addicted.
Naltrexone is available in pill form, but experts say the daily medication is not as effective in the long term. There exists an overwhelming need for better addiction treatment options. Federal statistics on addiction show a 12 percent increase in the number of people addicted to opiates between 2008 and 2009. And the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention report that the number of emergency room visits linked to painkillers more than doubled between 2004 and 2008. Doctor-prescribed narcotics are associated with 12 times the number of ER visits as heroin.
Doctors caution that Vivitrol is not a magic addiction cure. They recommend that it be used in conjunction with a braoder treatment plan that includes counseling.
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