electroCore Announces Selection of gammaCore for National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA)-Sponsored Study in Opioid Use Disorders

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[{"type":"text","content":"BASKING RIDGE, N.J., Dec. 01, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- electroCore, Inc. (Nasdaq: ECOR), a commercial-stage bioelectronic medicine company, announced today that its gammaCore non-invasive vagus nerve stimulator (nVNS) has been selected for evaluation in a randomized controlled study for the treatment of opioid use disorders. The study is being run by Dr. Douglas Bremner at Emory University in collaboration with the Georgia Institute of Technology and the City University of New York and is supported by the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NCT04556552).\n The study will enroll 40 subjects, in two separate study groups of 20 subjects each. Each study group will randomize 10 subjects to be treated with nVNS and 10 with sham stimulation. The study will assess the ability of nVNS to decrease opioid cravings in subjects with a history of opioid use disorder who are stable on medication, as well as examine the possible mechanisms that might facilitate this clinical effect. Dr. Douglas Bremner, Professor of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences and Radiology at the Emory University School of Medicine, staff physician at the Atlanta Veterans Clinic General Mental Health Unit at the Atlanta VA Medical Center and primary investigator of the study, commented: “Opioid use disorders (OUDs) are highly prevalent and potentially lethal conditions that are often linked to trauma and post-traumatic stress disorder. These conditions are of particular concern to the VA and limited treatment options currently exist. The use of nVNS during the opioid withdrawal period represents a potential new innovation versus current treatments that rely on medication and counseling, widely acknowledged to have limitations during this critical period. Novel treatments are needed that address the underlying neurobiology of OUDs involving the sympathetic nervous system, inflammatory responses, and brain areas and systems mediating craving and addiction. nVNS has previously been shown to be effective in treating a number of conditions, including most forms of primary headache, depression and epilepsy, and has also been shown to affect the underlying neurobiology of OUDs.” Peter Staats, MD, MBA, Chief Medical Officer of electroCore and President-elect of the World Institute of Pain, stated: “Addiction is a significant health crisis in the United States. Data suggests that...

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