SEATTLE — Researchers around the world are studying whether a GLP-1 drug could help people battling alcohol use disorder.
The 14-month clinical trial is testing brenipatide at 118 locations, including in the United States and several other countries, such as Belgium, China, Germany, Japan, South Korea, Taiwan and the United Kingdom.
The study includes adults ages 18 to 75 who have alcohol use disorder. Participants will receive either brenipatide or a placebo, but neither the participants nor the researchers will know which treatment they are receiving during the trial.
“These are people whose alcohol use is, in many cases, impacting multiple areas of their life, like health, relationships or work. They may continue to use alcohol, experience cravings, and have tried many times to stop or cut down,” said addiction psychologist Mary Hatch, a professor at one of the study sites at the University of Washington School of Medicine.
GLP-1 drugs are best known for helping people manage diabetes and lose weight. Research is also beginning to explore whether the medications could help reduce addictive behaviors by affecting areas of the brain involved in reward and cravings.
“Early research suggests these medications have the potential to provide a unique and powerful new medication treatment for alcohol use disorder,” said Dr. Mark Duncan, an addiction psychiatrist at UW Medicine and the trial site’s principal investigator, in a press release.
Duncan said the findings from the trial could help inform a future decision by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration about whether to approve brenipatide as a treatment for alcohol use disorder.
The research is part of a broader effort to determine whether GLP-1 medications could help treat alcohol use disorder. The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs is also launching a clinical trial focused on semaglutide, a GLP-1 receptor agonist, to determine whether it can reduce alcohol consumption among veterans diagnosed with alcohol use disorder.
