Titan, Opiant partner to develop subcutaneous implant for opioid use disorder

Titan Pharmaceuticals (NSDQ:TTNP) and Opiant Pharmaceuticals (NSDQ:OPNT) announced this week that the companies are partnering to develop a subcutaneous implant to deliver an opioid antagonist.

The pair said they plan to conduct a feasibility assessment of such an implant using Titan’s ProNeura sustained release technology. The goal of their collaboration is to devise a way to prevent opioid relapse and overdose in people with opioid use disorder, the companies said, by delivering therapeutic levels of an opioid antagonist for six months at a time.

As many as 91% of people with opioid use disorder in recovery will relapse, according to Titan, and at least 59% of people who relapse do so within their first week of sobriety.

“Currently, the only FDA-approved opioid antagonist for relapse prevention is a monthly depot injection of naltrexone,” Opiant CEO Dr. Roger Crystal said in prepared remarks.

“A product with a six-month duration would allow patients to be opioid-free for a longer period, providing a greater window for long-term recovery, and most critically, relapse and overdose prevention. This six-month duration would mean that patients only have to make one good decision to initiate therapy, which is important because the longer patients receive pharmacological treatment, the less likely they are to relapse and possibly overdose.”

“We are pleased to collaborate with Opiant on this important project to evaluate the addition of an opioid antagonist implant to the armamentarium of products to treat opioid use disorder,” Titan President and CEO Sunil Bhonsle added.

“Our knowledge from developing the FDA-approved Probuphine (buprenorphine) implant for the maintenance treatment of opioid addiction, coupled with the drug development expertise at both companies, should enable us to complete this evaluation relatively rapidly and, hopefully, with a successful result.”