Once in the brain, RTI-113 selects and binds successfully to the same dopamine transporters that cocaine targets. It is potent, yet it enters the brain more slowly than cocaine. It is not a cure but a major step in reducing drug use and its enormous cost to society in terms of physical and mental health, crime and safety. The goal, he said, is to develop a medication that can be controlled and dispensed by a treatment center physician and will act as a safe steppingstone in the process of withdrawal. It would provide the addict and the treatment center staff the control needed to set in place a detoxification program.
Many addicts leave treatment because of the persistent, demoralizing urge to find drugs.
Kuhar and his colleagues, particularly Ivy Carroll, a medicinal chemist, began synthesizing phenyltropanes 10 years ago. From nearly 500 compounds, they have narrowed the field to about 25 candidates for further testing. Because compounds cannot be tested in humans unless they are proven likely to be safe and effective, rat or monkey models are used. In the self-administration model, an animal is given the opportunity to obtain an injection of a drug by pressing a lever. If the animal likes the drug, it will press the lever again and again.