Study Assesses Two-Year Outcomes of OUD Patients Following Sublocade Clinical Trials

In a study of long-term recovery in individuals with moderate to severe opioid use disorder following their transition from two Phase 3 clinical trials of Sublocade, the extended-release formulation of buprenorphine, 44% of participants self-reported sustained illicit opioid-free weeks for the two-year duration of the project.

Results of the RECOVER (Remission from Chronic Opioid Use-Studying Environmental and Socio Economic Factors on Recovery) study were presented last week at the Scientific Meeting of the College of Drug Dependence. The project was the first analysis of patient outcomes two years after receiving up to 18 months of treatment with Sublocade.

“Opioid use disorder is a chronic disease and its treatment is complex and multifaceted,” the study’s lead author, Walter Ling, MD, research professor in the Department of Family Medicine, David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA said in a news release. “These findings show that long-term treatment with counseling may positively assist patients in focusing on their recovery, including discontinuation of illicit opioid use. Over the 24-month RECOVER observation period, participants also achieved and maintained positive effects including improved employment rates and lower healthcare system utilization.”

More specifically in terms of other positive effects observed, the study found:

• 74% of the 533 survey participants completed the 24-month assessment
• While around 35% of participants were employed during their pre-trial screening, between 45% to 48% reported employment during the assessment period after 24 months
• 15% of respondents reported staying overnight in a hospital during the assessment period, and 12% reported having an emergency department visit