NIDA Discusses Innovative Approaches to Treat Substance Use Disorders
 Annual meeting attendees who wanted to know more about the latest innovations in treating addiction gathered yesterday at the “Biological Approaches to Treat Substance Use Disorder” session sponsored by the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA). The purpose of the session was to give an update on the progress of new developments such as vaccines, monoclonal antibodies, and enzymes that may be used in the future to remedy substance use disorders (SUDs).
“Right now, there are no FDA-approved biologics to treat substance use disorders,” commented Ivan Montoya, M.D., NIDA deputy director of the Division of Pharmacotherapy, who chaired the session. Montoya explained to Psychiatric News that the innovative therapies—known as biologics—are unique because they inhibit drug access to brain, rather than directly targeting proteins on the brain. “These are new approaches outside of traditional medicines to treat addiction.”
Advancements highlighted during the session included a Pfizer vaccine for nicotine addiction, the anti-cocaine enzyme butyrylcholinesterase generated at NIDA, and a monoclonal antibody against methamphetamine addiction presented by researchers at the University of Arkansas.
Though this was the first session of its kind to be sponsored by NIDA at an APA annual meeting, Montoya assured Psychiatric News that NIDA plans to have more sessions concerning this topic at future APA meetings. Click here to see Montoya’s overview of today’s session.
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