Buprenorphine for Treatment of Cocaine Dependence

This is not all that new, but it was just pointed out to me recently and I figure many of you will find it interesting.  As most readers know, the receptors that mediate the actions of cocaine are completely different than the receptors that are activated during use of opioids.  I will be posting related information in the next few days.
From DataMonitor:
Alkermes, Inc., an integrated biotechnology company, has announced positive topline results from a Phase I clinical study of an investigational combination of ALKS 33 and buprenorphine, an existing medication for the treatment of opioid addiction, for the treatment of cocaine addiction.
Data from the study showed that the combination therapy was generally well tolerated and sublingual administration of ALKS 33 effectively blocked the agonist effects of buprenorphine. Based on these positive results, Alkermes expects to initiate a phase IIa study of the combination therapy in the first half of calendar year 2011, the company said.
The phase I study was a randomized, double-blind, multi-dose,placebo-controlled clinical trial that assessed the safety, tolerability and pharmacodynamic effects of the combination of ALKS 33 and buprenorphine when administered alone and in combination to 12 opioid-experienced users.
Buprenorphine is used for the treatment of opioid addiction, despite its own potential for abuse. Combining ALKS 33, an opioid modulator, with buprenorphine, a partial opioid agonist, may block the agonist effects of buprenorphine thereby reducing the potential for the development of opioid dependence while still maintaining effective therapeutic action. Furthermore,
the pharmacologic properties and low dose of ALKS 33 required to effectively block mu opioid receptors may allow for a co-formulation with buprenorphine as a single sublingual tablet, the company added.
Elliot Ehrich, chief medical officer of Alkermes, said: “We look forward to continuing the recent momentum in our R&D efforts by initiating a phase IIa clinical trial to generate further data, as we advance the ALKS 33 and buprenorphine combination therapy as part of Alkermes’s growing pipeline of proprietary product candidates.”