Long-awaited study finds monthly Vivitrol as effective as daily pill for opioid addiction
The finding from the largest head-to-head study to date between two leading drugs to treat opioid addiction could dramatically change prescribing habits.
The largest head-to-head study to date between two leading drugs to treat opioid addiction has found them roughly equivalent — an outcome that could dramatically change prescribing habits and boost the fortunes of the newer drug, Vivitrol.
The study, sponsored by the National Institute on Drug Abuse, found that a monthly shot of naltrexone (sold as Vivitrol) is as effective as its main competitor, the daily pill of buprenorphine and naloxone (sold as Suboxone). Researchers found that about half of people with opioid addiction who took either drug remained free from relapse six months later.
Previously, there’s been a “widespread belief” that patients
