Dr. Montoya is the Clinical Director of the Division of Therapeutics and Medical Consequences (DTMC) of the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) and Chair of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) HEAL Initiative in Therapeutics Development for Opioid and Stimulant Use Disorders. He leads a large program of research that supports the development of pharmacological and non-pharmacological treatments for Substance Use Disorders (SUDs). He is an M.D. and psychiatrist from the University of Antioquia (Colombia) and has a Master’s in Public Health (M.P.H.) from Johns Hopkins University. He completed a Post-Doctoral Fellowship at the Intramural Research Program of NIDA and was the Director of the Practice Research Network of the American Psychiatric Association. He has published extensively in the areas of etiology, prevention, treatment (pharmacological and non-pharmacological), and medical consequences of SUDs. He is the editor of a book summarizing the science on biologics (vaccines, monoclonal antibodies, and enzymes) to treat SUDs and another book focusing on the science of Cannabis Use Disorders. He has received numerous awards including the NIH Director’s Award and the Michael Morrison Award from the College on Problems of Drug Dependence (CPDD).
Abstract
Novel Therapeutic Interventions for Psychostimulant Use Disorders and Overdose
The popularity of psychostimulant use appears rebounding in many countries. The prevalence of Psychostimulant (cocaine and methamphetamine) Use Disorders (PsUD) and deaths associated with psychostimulant overdose (PsOD) have been increasing in recent years. In the United States, the age-adjusted mortality rate per 100,000 due to PsOD increased from 0.2 in 1999 to 7.5 in 2020. In other words, 23,837 individuals died because of PsOD in 2020. Moreover, it has been reported that in 2020 there were 1.3 and 1.5 million people with cocaine and methamphetamine use disorder, respectively. It has also been reported that 603,000 and 635,000 individuals received treatment for cocaine and methamphetamine use disorder, respectively. Despite these alarming numbers, there are no medications approved by the FDA to treat PsUD and PsOD. Because of the resurgence of these conditions, the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the United States has increased the support of research to discover and develop new approaches to treat them. They include the evaluation of the safety and efficacy of new molecular entities, repurposed medications, biologics (vaccines, monoclonal antibodies and enzymes), as well as non-pharmacological interventions such as therapeutic devices, digital interventions, and behavioral therapies. The purpose of the presentation is to provide an overview of the advances in the research supported by NIDA to treat PsUD and PsOD. It is expected that at the end of the presentation, participants will become familiar with the most promising therapeutic interventions in the research pipeline for PsUD and PsOD.