“The Helping to End Addiction Long-termSM Initiative, or NIH HEAL InitiativeSM, is an aggressive, trans-agency effort to speed scientific solutions to stem the national opioid public health crisis. This includes preventing opioid misuse, developing new addiction treatments, and making effective treatments accessible to the over 2 million people with opioid use disorder (OUD) in the U.S, as well as providing new solutions and new hope to the 50 million people suffering from chronic pain.”
“In Fiscal Year 2019, approximately 375 NIH HEAL Initiative grants, contracts, supplements, and cooperative agreements in 41 states, totaling $945 million, have been awarded to researchers and research teams across the U.S.—an unprecedented scientific investment that could go a long way toward achieving these important goals. The awards being announced today include funding from NIDA primarily in the areas of OUD prevention and treatment.”
“We have three effective medications to treat OUD—methadone, buprenorphine, and naltrexone, in a growing number of formulations. These are recognized as the first line of treatment, but the majority of people with OUD still never receive any treatment, and many healthcare and justice settings do not make medications available. Three major NIDA-led NIH HEAL Initiative projects, the expansion of the Clinical Trials Network (CTN), the Justice Community Opioid Innovation Network (JCOIN), and the HEALing Communities Study, are already getting started investigating ways to widen the scope of OUD treatment in settings where it is most needed, including rural areas.” Read the full press release here.
Source: NIDA Announces New NIH HEAL Initiative Awards to Address the Opioid Crisis – September 26, 2019. NIH
