Can a new drug calm the storm of opioid withdrawal?
NCT ID NCT06538558
First seen Sep 17, 2026 · Last updated Sep 18, 2026 · Updated 1 time
Summary
Researchers are testing an experimental drug called tezampanel to see if it is safe and can ease opioid withdrawal symptoms in adults with opioid use disorder. The trial enrolls 40 people who are seeking treatment and have recent opioid use. Participants stay in a research center for seven days and receive daily intravenous doses of tezampanel or a placebo. The study measures side effects and how the body processes the drug.
What this could mean
Our plain-language read of the trial. This is informational only, not medical advice or a prediction.
- Active substance
- tezampanel, an experimental drug given intravenously
- What this could lead to
- If it works, tezampanel could offer a new way to ease opioid withdrawal symptoms, making the first days of treatment easier for people with opioid use disorder.
- What could go wrong
- This is a small Phase I trial with 40 participants, so researchers are mainly checking safety and dosing. The drug may not relieve withdrawal symptoms, and intravenous dosing could cause side effects that limit its use.
This is an AI summary of the original study and may miss details. Read our disclaimer.
Study facts
What this study's own registry entry says, in plain language.
- Phase
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Phase 1
The first testing in people. Mainly checks safety and dose, usually in a small group.
- Participants
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About 40 people
The number the study aims to enrol. It can still change while the study runs.
- Started
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Oct 2024
- Expected to finish
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Nov 2027
An estimate. End dates often move.
- Lead sponsor
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A company
The lead sponsor is a pharmaceutical, biotech, or medical-device company.
Who can take part
This study's own entry requirements. Only the study team can say for certain whether you qualify.
- Ages
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18 to 65 years
- Sex
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Anyone
- Healthy volunteers
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Not accepted
This study is not open to healthy volunteers. The entry requirements below say who it is open to.
Show the full entry requirements Hide the full entry requirements
Copied word for word from the study's registry entry, so the wording is the study team's rather than ours.
Inclusion Criteria: 1. Male, female or non-binary, age 18 to 65 years of age at Screening. 2. Diagnosis of Opioid Use Disorder (OUD) 3. Positive Urine Drug Screen (UDS) for opioid(s) at the Screening and Baseline Visits. 4. Recent active/chronic use of short-acting illicit and/or prescribed opioids and/or long-acting Opioid Use Disorder (OUD) maintenance treatments buprenorphine or methadone at the Screening and Baseline Visits. 5. Already engaged and fully assessed in a longitudinal-outpatient treatment program that provides opioid addiction treatment encompassing the full spectrum of opioid maintenance and abstinence (injectable Vivitrol®) treatments, in which the host clinic is prepared and equipped to continue with: 1. maintenance treatment (methadone or buprenorphine treatment) for study non-completers, or 2. long-acting injectable naltrexone treatment (Vivitrol®), for completers with next dose delivered approximately 30 days after Study Day 6. 6. Post-menopausal/sterile or agree to use chemical or barrier methods of birth control from time of informed consent through 30 days post last treatment. 7. Stable concomitant medications. 8. Stable concomitant medications for depression, post-traumatic stress disorder, psychotic disorders, and bipolar spectrum disorders if one of the following: SSRI, SNRI, bupropion, MAOI, trazodone, Tricyclic, typical and atypical antipsychotics, lithium, antihistamine, alpha-adrenergic agent, nicotine replacement. 9. Stable concomitant medications: propranolol, prazosin, and clonidine if used for psychiatric reasons, and not to control hypertension at the Baseline Visit and unchanged on Study Day 1. 10. Provide informed consent. 11. Understand and follow Lifestyle Considerations per protocol. Exclusion Criteria: 1. Clinically at risk or unstable due to: 1. Active psychosis or mania that is impairing insight, decision-making, perception, or ability to provide informed consent as assessed by the PI or designee during the Screening or Baseline Visits, discussion with the outpatient treatment provider, or at Study Day 1. 2. Active suicidal ideation or intent as assessed by the PI or designee during the Baseline Visit interview or the C-SSRS on Study Day 1. 3. Chronic benzodiazepine use, or at significant risk for, or in a state of benzodiazepine withdrawal at the Screening or Baseline Visits, Study Day 1, or in discussion with the outpatient treatment provider. 4. Alcohol Use Disorder as assessed by the PI or designee with \> 14 drinks / week (average of \> 2 / day) at the Screening or Baseline Visits or Study Day 1 or in discussion with the outpatient treatment provider. 5. Seizure disorder; use of anti-convulsant for bipolar disorder, seizure, or chronic pain (including topiramate, gabapentin, carbamazepine, valproic acid) at the Screening or Baseline Visits or Study Day 1. 6. Cardiac abnormalities including arrythmia, conduction abnormality or baseline QTC prolongation (QTcF \> 450 males; 470 females); pacemaker, history of myocardial infarction at the Baseline Visit. 7. Hypertension, diabetes mellitus, cancer, liver, and/or kidney disease and associated medications at the Screening or Baseline Visits or at Study Day 1. 2. Abnormal safety laboratory results. 3. ALT or AST \> 3xs upper limit of normal at Baseline or Study Day 1. 4. Undiagnosed hypertension defined as: 1. Baseline Visit: BP \> 160 / 100 mmHg or heart rate \> 120 bpm 2. Study Day 1: BP ≥ 180 / 120 mmHg or heart rate ≥ 140 bpm that continues after 10 minutes of rest. 5. Temperature \> 38.1°C at the Baseline Visit. Temperature \> 38.9°C at the Study Day 1. 6. Medications that stimulate the dopamine system pre- or post-synaptically, including L-Dopa, lisdexamfetamine, modafinil, gabapentin, phenobarbital, etc.) at the Screening or Baseline Visits or Study Day 1. 7. Medications for addiction, ADHD, insomnia, or bipolar spectrum disorders involving dopamine system stimulants, benzodiazepines, barbiturates, or mood stabilizers active via GABA or glutamate receptor system (e.g. valproic acid, lamotrigine, carbamazepine, acamprosate, disulfiram) at the Screening or Baseline Visits or Study Day 1. 8. Use of naltrexone or acamprosate (active at opioid or glutamatergic receptors) at the Screening or Baseline Visits or Study Day 1. 9. Significant, active infection (e.g., positive for syphilis, tuberculosis, COVID-19, HBV) at the Baseline Visit. 10. Symptomatic HIV or HCV (detectable viral load) at the Baseline Visit. 11. Pregnancy or breastfeeding at the Screening or Baseline Visits or Study Day 1. 12. Poor venous access at the Baseline Visit or Study Day 1. 13. Participation in a research study involving another investigational drug in the last 3 months at the Screening Visit.
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Conditions
The condition(s) this trial relates to.
As listed by the trial registrant
The condition terms exactly as the trial's registrant entered them.
How to take part
Only the study team decides who joins. These are the ways to reach them.
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The places running it
1 site. The list below names each one and where it is.
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The official record
ClinicalTrials.gov lists the study team's own contact details, including names and phone numbers. We don't republish those.
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A doctor treating you
A doctor who knows your case can contact a study site on your behalf, and can tell you whether this study is worth pursuing at all.
Contacts and locations
Locations
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Indiana University School of Medicine
RECRUITINGIndianapolis, Indiana, 46202, United States
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