Prescription opioids remain a popular drug class with 142 million (M) opioid
prescriptions written in 2020. In that same year, 9.5M people aged 12 or older misused
opioids representing 3.3% of that population and overdose deaths from opioids rose to
70,029, an increase of 37% (which has since increased to 82,310 in 2021). The COVID-19
pandemic has exposed many vulnerabilities in the treatment of patients with OUD. Of
patients prescribed opioids, between 3-10% will later develop opioid use disorder (OUD).
Given that prescription opioids remain the dominant route through which OUD begins,
reducing their abuse and diversion can translate over time into reduced deaths.
Many patients with OUD are treated by a combination of buprenorphine with counseling and
behavioral therapies, also known as Medication Assisted Treatment (MAT). Although
buprenorphine is less addictive than opioids or other treatments (e.g., methadone), it is
not invulnerable to abuse or diversion. There is therefore a significant opportunity for
the development of new technologies aimed at remotely treating OUD, and preventing drug
misuse, abuse, and diversion. Although several secure dispenser technologies are under
development, there remains a critical need for a comprehensive solution that prevents
and/or treats addiction, tracks usage, collects data, and eliminates excess medication,
while also remaining modular and cost effective enough to be widely accessible.
Addinex Technologies, Inc. is developing the only solution that combines: 1) a patented,
secure, low-cost and modular medication-dispenser which controls medication access and
encourages convenient and safe unused medication disposal, combined with 2) companion
mobile patient app and physician/pharmacist web-based software that features interactive
modules and surveys to improve patient education and engagement, caregiver monitoring,
and teletherapy to facilitate patient-provider interactions.
Addinex will conduct a feasibility and acceptability study for its app-based and
text-based system across patients (n = 60) undergoing OUD treatment. Successful
completion of these aims will provide critical insights to further optimize the Addinex
system and to guide the design of a larger, randomized controlled trial to demonstrate
its efficacy and cost effectiveness.
This study will be the springboard for the development of a system that is cost
efficient, widely accessible, and user-friendly, with the aim of increasing adherence,
decreasing treatment time, decreasing the misuse of medication, increasing treatment
retention, and reducing relapses in OUD treatment for the many who are suffering.