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Vivitrol offers the fantasy of being drug-free. But that’s not the most important thing in tackling addiction

Stinging investigations by the New York Times, National Public Radio, ProPublica, and others have recently exposed how the drug maker Alkermes is promoting Vivitrol — a long-acting injection that blocks the effects of opioids — at the expense of other, better-studied treatments for opioid dependence. We can and should blame prescription drug companies for the misleading marketing they use to boost sales. But we should also look in the mirror and recognize that, in the case of opioid dependence, these schemes work so well because they reflect the bias — often unconscious and well-meaning — that prioritizes the fantasy of being drug-free over the real interests of people in need of help.

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 Vivitrol vs Suboxone: Weighing the choices

I urge you not to be persuaded by nonsense about some moral superiority of abstinence-based treatment, or that medication-assisted treatment is just substituting one addictive substance for another. People develop an opioid addiction over many years of compulsive use, and you are not causing any further addiction by using Suboxone or Vivitrol, so please discard that notion. That’s just stigma and it kills people.

 Vivitrol, Used to Fight Opioid Misuse, Has a Major Overdose Problem

A recent examination of Vivitrol’s clinical trial data uncovered many hidden overdoses. Its preferential use in the criminal justice system must stop

Articles of Interest

A Drugmaker Tries To Cash In On The Opioid Epidemic, One State Law At A Time

That Vivitrol has no street value and no potential for abuse has helped the drug shake some of the skepticism directed toward medication-assisted treatment. For the last several years, the company has marketed the drug heavily to people in the criminal justice system, convincing judges and corrections officials to offer Vivitrol to inmates and parolees. But there hasn't been as much research on Vivitrol's long-term effectiveness compared to methadone and buprenorphine, partly because it's a newer drug.

A Much-Hyped Addiction Treatment Is Less Effective Than Older Meds

Despite what other headlines may say.

A new study found a big problem with a popular opioid addiction medication

For the first time, a new study in The Lancet, sponsored by the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA), compared the effectiveness of naltrexone with buprenorphine in the US. The results were both promising and disappointing. While naltrexone is as effective as buprenorphine once treatment begins, it is also significantly more difficult to actually start naltrexone because it requires an extensive detox period — which can span more than a week — that buprenorphine does not.

How Safe Is America's Hottest Heroin Addiction Treatment?

Vivitrol is all the rage amid a brutal opioid epidemic. But it may also make it almost impossible to feel pleasure—and raise the risk of fatal overdose after relapse.

Long-awaited study finds monthly Vivitrol as effective as daily pill for opioid addiction

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 “don’t do as well on naltrexone as they do on buprenorphine,” said Dr. Nora Volkow, director of NIDA. “We’re hopeful this changes the prejudice.”

Long-awaited study finds monthly Vivitrol as effective as daily pill for opioid addiction

The finding, however, comes with a major caveat. A large number of people were unable to even start treatment with Vivitrol. That’s because participants had to thoroughly wean themselves off opioids for a period of three days before they could start taking Vivitrol, to avoid sudden symptoms of opioid withdrawal. Because of that hurdle, patients failed to start on Vivitrol at four times the rate that they did Suboxone.

Opioid Addiction Study Finds the Drug Vivitrol, Once Begun, Is as Effective as Suboxone

Fewer study participants were able to start treatment with Vivitrol than with Suboxone, but those who were able to do so experienced similar efficacy.

Seizing on Opioid Crisis, a Drug Maker Lobbies Hard for Its Product

Five years ago, Vivitrol was a treatment for opioid addiction that was struggling to find a market. Now, its sales and profile are rising fast, thanks to its manufacturers’ shrewd use of political connections, and despite scant science to prove the drug’s efficacy.

The Last Shot

Amid a surging opiate crisis, the maker of the anti-addiction drug Vivitrol skirted the usual sales channels. It found a captive market for its once-a-month injection in the criminal justice system.

What To Make Of A Head-To-Head Test Of Addiction Treatments

Researchers who compared the two drugs found them equally effective once treatment started. But there are fundamental differences in the way treatment begins, which makes these findings difficult to interpret.

Resources

Vivitrol

VIVITROL is a prescription injectable medicine used to: Treat alcohol dependence. You should stop drinking before starting VIVITROL. Prevent relapse to opioid dependence, after opioid detoxification. You must stop taking opioids before you start receiving VIVITROL. To be effective, VIVITROL must be used with other alcohol or drug recovery programs such as counseling. VIVITROL may not work for everyone. It is not known if VIVITROL is safe and effective in children.