Well the theory of change here actually includes the pharma companies in trying to develop treatments. I don't trust pharma to do anything other than profit maximize, but I think the dynamics are such that this effort won't be in opposition to their interests and the FDA has already clamped down hard on new medications with addictive potential.
The government probably should have put the Sackler settlement money towards development of non-addictive painkillers.
Quick update to let you know that we just launched a new substack: https://curingaddiction.substack.com/
Hope you will subscribe!
A new, yet unnamed, Emerging Addiction Medicine Policy Initiative, is looking to hire a Part-Time Researcher, Biomed and Data.
We are a new, as yet unnamed, non-profit project focused on the opiate crisis and potential breakthrough treatments for addiction and overdose. Our thesis is that development of new medicines for substance use disorders is radically underfunded relative to the scale of the negative health and social impacts.
We are currently a nearly full-time founder with experience in public policy, tech, science, and investing, and a part-time data scientist who is creating charts for the project.
We are looking to build ongoing research capacity to develop a strong analytical argument for the public, the industry, and policy makers. We are currently seeking a part-time research assistant with experience in biology, medicine, or the biomed industry and with some understanding of data science.
We want someone who is excited to dive into an important and complex research arena, learn as much as possible, stay on top of new developments and debates in the field, and bring an open-minded approach to everything we examine, driven by facts and logic. We are non-ideological and are looking for real answers. We are largely US-oriented because of the scale of the crisis in the US and because most of the research and pharma resources are based in the US. That being said, we have non-US collaborators and we are interested in global solutions.
This will be our first paid research position and it is something of an experiment for us. Responsibilities and time per week may shift a bit.
Skills, Experience, and Responsibilities
Optional Bonus Skills
Pay rate: $30 - $50 per hour, depending on experience.
Time: 10-20 hours a week.
To Apply: email us at addictionpolicyinitiative@gmail.com and include your resume and a message about your experience and why you are interested in the position.
Thank you!
Great, I'll DM you and we can stay in touch.
My goal is to first build the case that the space is underfunded, and assuming that it feels convincing to me and others, try to push for more awareness and funding in the space. This could mean creating a formal or informal organization or it could just mean creating some kind of movement, momentum, etc. I'd love to get some of the leading researchers onto the popular health podcasts, help them create more powerful presentations for the public, talk to NIH researchers, politicians, and more. I think there's a lot of low (and high) hanging fruit here.
But definitely starting humbly, trying to get the science and the facts right and going from there.
I don't know of any head to head comparisons. It's comparable to Vicodin according to the studies. It seems likely that it can be safely combined with acetaminophen which would make it more effective.
And yes, opioid over-prescribing is more of a US problem than most other places, but eventually getting opioids out of all medical systems over time will help reduce opioid addiction globally.