Tools to speed discovery of new medicines for addiction and overdoses
Official title: New Technologies for Accelerating the Discovery and Characterization of Neuroactives that Address Substance Use Disorders
Funded at University of California, San Francisco · NIH-11291799 · Data updated 2026-11-12
This project is making faster lab methods to find new drugs that could help people with addiction, reduce drug-seeking, or reverse overdoses.
Quick facts
| Grant type | NIH-funded research |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | University of California, San Francisco NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (San Francisco, United States) |
| Project start | April 1, 2023 |
| Project end | February 29, 2028 |
| Funding year | 2026 |
| Award (this year) | $484,500 |
| NIH project number | 5DP1DA058350-04 |
| Project ID | NIH-11291799 on NIH RePORTER |
Who could benefit from this research
✓Could help
People with opioid or other substance use disorders, those at high risk of overdose, or patients seeking non-opioid pain options would be the eventual candidates for therapies from this work.
✕Less likely to help
Because this is early, lab-focused discovery work, people seeking immediate treatment today are unlikely to get direct benefit from the project right now.
What this research studies
You should know researchers are developing high-throughput lab tools to scan many small molecules for effects on brain circuits and addictive behaviors. They are specifically looking for three kinds of candidates: non-opioid pain alternatives, drugs that reduce drug-seeking behavior, and antidotes that can reverse overdoses. The team will combine chemical screening, behavioral testing in mammalian models, and rapid characterization to pick promising leads. Successful candidates would then move toward the kinds of preclinical and clinical testing that could eventually involve patients.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, this work could produce new medications for pain that aren't addictive, drugs that help curb cravings, or new overdose antidotes to save lives.
How similar studies have gone: Existing drugs like naloxone and buprenorphine have been lifesaving and some compounds (e.g., ketamine) show reduced drug-seeking in animal studies, but this project focuses on faster discovery of new small molecules and is largely preclinical.
Where this research is happening
-
University of California, San Francisco
San Francisco, United States Active
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Mccarroll, Matthew N — University of California, San Francisco
- Study coordinator: Mccarroll, Matthew N
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About this research
- This is an active NIH-funded research project — typically early-stage science, not a clinical trial accepting patient enrollment.
- Some NIH-funded labs run parallel clinical studies or seek volunteers for related work. To check, contact the principal investigator or institution listed above.
- For full project details, budget, and progress reports, visit the official NIH RePORTER page.