Few families are left untouched by the devastating problems caused by opioid misuse and addiction, which take the lives of about 50,000 people each year in the United States.

Similar to cancer and cardiovascular disease, opioid use disorder is a chronic illness that includes periods of both remission and relapse. Although many people achieve long-term recovery, the most effective pathways to a healthy life are not well understood.

Now, Virginia Tech and Indivior, a pharmaceutical company focused on developing medications to treat substance use disorders, have agreed to extend the RECOVER (Remission from Chronic Opioid Use-Studying Environmental and Socio-Economic Factors on Recovery) Study.

RECOVER is a multisite, noninterventional cohort study examining long-term recovery in individuals with moderate to severe opioid use disorder who received at least one dose of study treatment during the Phase 3 clinical trials studying safety and tolerability for Sublocade, an extended-release treatment for moderate to severe opioid use.

The study will be carried out by a team of researchers led by Warren Bickel, a professor at the Fralin Biomedical Research Institute at VTC, the Virginia Tech Carilion Behavioral Health Research Professor, and a professor of psychology in the College of Science at Virginia Tech.

“This study represents a powerful example of how academia and industry can collaborate through rigorous science to study human behavior in order to address a major health problem that is causing unprecedented hardship throughout the United States, particularly here in Virginia,” said Michael Friedlander, vice president for health sciences and technology at Virginia Tech and the executive director of the Fralin Biomedical Research Institute. “Together, we are determined to find scientifically sound solutions to the opioid crisis. As one of the world’s most innovative addiction researchers, Dr. Bickel is the ideal leader for this important program, bringing years of innovation, leadership, and rigorous study design to bear on this important national health issue.”

To learn more, check out the whole article below.

https://vtnews.vt.edu/articles/2019/12/opioid-fralinbiomed-120419.html