ClinicalTrials.gg
CompletedNCT01739192Updated Jun 26, 2018

A Novel Anti-Obesity Drug Combination as a Pharmacotherapy for Cocaine Dependence

An Early Phase 1 interventional study of Bupropion in Cocaine Use Disorders, sponsored by Craig Rush. Completed at 1 site in United States. Open to participants aged 18 Years to 55 Years. Per ClinicalTrials.gov, last updated 2018-06-26.

Sponsored by Craig Rush · Early Phase 1, Interventional, and Basic science

Phase
Early Phase 1
Study type
Interventional
Enrollment
34
Allocation
Randomized
Ages
18 Years to 55 Years
Sex
All
01

Study summary

The research proposed in this application will determine the initial efficacy, safety and tolerability of a novel drug combination, bupropion and naltrexone, as a pharmacotherapy for cocaine dependence. A rigorous, inpatient human laboratory study will be conducted. The proposed study is innovative and important because it will provide the impetus for the conduct of double blind, placebo-controlled trials to further demonstrate the efficacy of bupropion-naltrexone combinations for managing cocaine dependence.

Read the detailed description

Cocaine (COC) dependence is a significant public health concern. A widely effective pharmacotherapy has not yet been identified for COC dependence. Innovative strategies are needed to identify an effective pharmacotherapy for COC dependence. Testing medications effective for disorders that share neurobiological substrates with drug dependence, for example, could yield treatments for managing COC dependence.

Obesity is also a significant public health concern. Although obesity and COC dependence are typically considered distinct clinical entities, both diseases involve perturbations of central biogenic amine and/or hypothalamic-melanocortin systems. The obesity epidemic has spurred development of medications to promote weight loss. A combination of bupropion (BUP) and naltrexone (NTX) is effective for obesity. The overarching goal of this application is to demonstrate the initial efficacy, safety, and tolerability of BUP-NTX combinations for COC dependence. A mixed-model experiment will be conducted in which separate cohorts of non-treatment-seeking, COC-dependent participants will be randomized to different maintenance doses of NTX (i.e., NTX is a between-subject factor). Participants (N=12) in each NTX cohort will be maintained concurrently on BUP (i.e., BUP is a within-subject factor). The reinforcing effects of intranasal COC will be determined after participants in each NTX cohort are maintained for 4-7 days on each of the BUP doses (i.e., COC is a within-subject factor). COC (0, 40 and 80 mg) will be tested with multiple dose combinations of BUP (0, 100, 200, 400 mg/day) and NTX (0, 25, 50 mg/day). The proposed study will also identify the optimal dose combination of BUP and NTX that most effectively attenuates the reinforcing effects of COC.

This research will provide critical information regarding the initial efficacy and optimal doses of a novel drug combination, BUP and NTX, for COC dependence, which will enhance the probability of success when advanced to a clinical trial. Innovations of the proposed research include: 1) testing a combination of marketed drugs that demonstrated modest efficacy when tested as mono-therapies; 2) the use of a sophisticated drug self-administration procedure; 3) providing the impetus for the conduct of a Phase II clinical trial to further demonstrate the efficacy of BUP-NTX combinations for COC dependence; and 4) demonstrating the initial efficacy and optimal doses of a combination of commercially available drugs, as opposed to waiting for novel molecules to be available for testing in humans, thereby impacting clinical research and practice more quickly. In these ways, the proposed project will shift the current clinical research paradigm in pharmacotherapy development and have a significant impact on the treatment of COC dependence.

02

Conditions studied

  • Cocaine Use Disorders
03

In context

Lead sponsor

Craig Rush is the lead sponsor of 6 studies on the registry; none are open to participants now.

Counted across the registry records on this site, refreshed daily.

04

Who can participate

Ages eligible
18 Years to 55 Years
Sexes eligible
All
Accepts healthy volunteers
No

Go through the criteria one by one — yes, no or not sure — and take the list to your doctor or the study team. Kept in this browser only.

Inclusion criteria

  • Recent cocaine use

Exclusion criteria

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Abnormal screening outcome (e.g., , blood chemistry result) that study physicians deem .
  • Current or past histories of substance abuse or dependence that are deemed by the study physicians to interfere with study completion.
  • History of serious physical disease, current physical disease, impaired cardiovascular functioning, , history of seizure or current or past histories of serious psychiatric disorder that in the opinion of the study physician would interfere with study participation will be excluded from participation.
  • Females not currently using effective .
  • to cocaine, bupropion or naltrexone,
Terms in these criteria, in plain language(5)

Underlined terms in the criteria open these too. Explained by clinicaltrials.gg, not part of the registry record. The study team decides who can take part.

ECG (electrocardiogram)

A recording of the heart’s electrical activity, taken with stickers on the chest, arms and legs. It takes a few minutes and does not hurt.

Clinically significant

Judged by the study doctor to matter for your health or for the study. It is a doctor’s decision, so ask the study team if you are unsure whether something counts.

COPD

Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease: long-term lung disease that makes it hard to breathe out, including emphysema and chronic bronchitis.

Contraception

Ways of preventing pregnancy. “Highly effective” methods fail less than 1% of the time a year when used correctly — for example an IUD or an implant.

Criteria usually say which methods count and how long to keep using them after the last dose, sometimes for male participants too. Some studies accept a partner’s vasectomy if it was confirmed successful and that person is the participant’s only sexual partner.

Contraindication

A reason a treatment, test or procedure should not be given to a particular person, such as an allergy, another illness or a medicine they take.

05

Study design

Phase
Early Phase 1
Primary purpose
Basic science
Allocation
Randomized
Intervention model
Factorial assignment
Masking
Triple (Participant, Care provider, Outcomes assessor)
Enrollment
34 participants (actual)

Study arms

  • Placebo comparator
    Arm 1

    Placebo oral daily for approximately six (6) weeks.

    Drug: Bupropion

  • Experimental
    Arm 2

    Naltrexone (25 mg) oral daily for approximately six (6) weeks.

    Drug: Bupropion

  • Experimental
    Arm 3

    Naltrexone (50 mg) oral daily for approximately six (6) weeks.

    Drug: Bupropion

Interventions

  • Subjects will be maintained on oral bupropion or placebo during the study.

06

What researchers measure

Primary outcomes

  1. Reinforcing Effects

    The reinforcing effects of cocaine will be determined using a self-administration procedure in which subjects choose to take previously sampled doses. Reinforcing effects are measured during maintenance on placebo, bupropion, naltrexone, and bupropion-naltrexone combinations.

    Time frame: Twelve (12) times over approximately six (6) weeks inpatient admission.

Secondary outcomes

  1. Subjective effects

    Subjects will complete subjective effects measures during sessions while they are admitted to our inpatient unit. These items will ask about drug effects and general mood.

    Time frame: Twelve (12) times over approximately six (6) weeks inpatient admission.

  2. Physiological and side effects.

    Physiological and side effects measures will be completed daily while subjects are admitted to our inpatient unit. Physiological measures included heart rate and blood pressure. Side effects questions will query subjects about common effects of centrally active medications.

    Time frame: Daily over approximately six (6) weeks inpatient admission.

07

Study locations

1 site
  • University of Kentucky Medical Center
    Lexington, Kentucky 40536-0086, United States
08

Timeline

Tracking since Sep 25, 2026
Not marked actual or estimatedDates not marked actual or estimated

The record gives a start of Jan 2013, a primary completion of Dec 2017 and a completion of Jun 2018. It does not say whether these dates are actual or estimated.

How these figures are worked out, and which studies are left out of them.

Registered
Nov 27, 2012
First posted
Dec 3, 2012
Start
Jan 2013
Primary completionActual
Dec 2017
CompletionActual
Jun 2018
Last update
Jun 26, 2018
What these dates mean
Start.
When the first participant enrolled; while estimated, when the study expects to open to recruitment.
Primary completion.
When the last participant was examined or treated to collect data for the study's main question, its primary outcome. A study that stopped early gives the date its data collection stopped.
Completion.
When the last participant's last visit took place, for every outcome, secondary ones and side effects included: the end of the study. Often later than primary completion, sometimes the same day.
Actual and Est.
Actual means the registry says the date has happened. Est. (estimated) is a date the sponsor plans or expects. It can still move, and the sponsor is expected to change it to actual once it has passed.
No changes since tracking began. The registry record was last updated on Jun 26, 2018, before this site started recording changes on Sep 25, 2026. Its history is on ClinicalTrials.gov ↗
09

Registry details

Key details

Study ID
NCT01739192
Lead sponsor
Craig Rush
Responsible party
Craig Rush (Professor, University of Kentucky) — Sponsor-investigator
First posted
Dec 3, 2012
Start date
Jan 2013
Primary completion
Dec 2017
Completion
Jun 2018
Last update
Jun 26, 2018

Oversight

Data monitoring committee
Yes
View the source record on ClinicalTrials.gov ↗

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This study is completed, as verified in Jun 2018. You cannot join it, but the record below documents what was studied.

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Discussion

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Studies of the drug tested here: Bupropion

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