Efficacy, Safety and Dose-Response Study Followed by Open-Label Study of Lofexidine Treatment of Opioid Withdrawal

Summary

The purpose of this study is to look at the efficacy and safety for lofexidine hydrochloride, an alpha-2 adrenergic agonist under development for the treatment of acute withdrawal from short-acting opioids. The study takes place in 2 parts: a 7-day inpatient double-blind treatment portion where subjects will be randomly assigned to one of three doses of study medication (2.4 mg total daily dose of lofexidine, 3.2 mg total daily dose of lofexidine, or placebo) followed by an optional open-label treatment period where subjects will be inpatient or outpatient and receive lofexidine at variable dosing for up to an additional 7 days. The Investigator hypothesizes that subjects will achieve maximum treatment effect with tolerable side effects at the 3.2 mg total daily dose and that both the 3.2 mg and 2.4 total daily doses will show better efficacy over placebo in treating symptoms of acute opioid withdrawal.

Timeline

Start

2013-06

Primary completion

2014-11

Completion

2014-12

Publications

• Alam D, Tirado C, Pirner M, Clinch T. Efficacy of lofexidine for mitigating opioid withdrawal symptoms: results from two randomized, placebo-controlled trials. J Drug Assess. 2020 Jan 8;9(1):13-19. doi: 10.1080/21556660.2019.1704416. eCollection 2020.
• Darpo B, Pirner M, Longstreth J, Ferber G. Effect of lofexidine on cardiac repolarization during treatment of opioid withdrawal. Drug Alcohol Depend. 2019 Dec 1;205:107596. doi: 10.1016/j.drugalcdep.2019.107596. Epub 2019 Sep 27.
• Fishman M, Tirado C, Alam D, Gullo K, Clinch T, Gorodetzky CW; CLEEN-SLATE Team. Safety and Efficacy of Lofexidine for Medically Managed Opioid Withdrawal: A Randomized Controlled Clinical Trial. J Addict Med. 2019 May/Jun;13(3):169-176. doi: 10.1097/ADM.0000000000000474.

Drugs

Indications