Implant Tested for Opioid Addiction Proven Effective
As the epidemic surrounding addictions to prescription medications continues to race around the country, treatment centers and doctors everywhere are trying to determine the best way to prevent this addiction – especially when these medications are so crucial for true pain management.
In a recent Bloomberg report, an implanted addiction-drug device was examined. Titan Pharmaceuticals had developed a study to test its implanted device and determined that it could be effective in helping addicts to fight their addiction to heroin and prescription painkillers. The device proved effective when compared with the placebo in the study.
Shaped like an inch-long matchstick, the Titan product is placed under the skin to deliver a continuous stream of buprenorphine, a drug used to treat addiction. When patients are implanted with the device, they demonstrated they were free of illegal opiates in roughly 40 percent of urine tests in the first 16 weeks. By comparison, those using the placebo implant were drug free only 28 percent of the time.
The device is known as Probuphine and is designed specifically to assist addicts who either skip or forget to take doses of their buprenorphine. This medication is often used in the treatment of addictions to opioids as it helps to reduce the cravings as well as the symptoms of withdrawal. Titan now plans to seek U.S. and European clearance for the use of Probuphine in treating addicts.
According to Katherine Beebe, senior vice president of clinical development and medical affairs for Titan, this implant has the potential to make a significant impact on the way treatment is developed for opioid addiction.