CU GIVEN $11 MILLION TO STUDY DRUG ABUSE

5-Year Grant Will Fund Tests For New Remedies

Help may be on the way for Colorado's drug addicts.

The University of Colorado Health Sciences Center will receive one of the
largest substance abuse grants in its history - $11 million over five years.

The grant, from the National Institute on Drug Abuse's Clinical Trials
Network, aims to make Colorado a testing ground for new remedies aimed at
curbing adolescent and adult cravings for opiates or cocaine.

Five clinics have committed to have 75 volunteer addicts each signed up to
participate for tests in the first year.

"This grant gives us a tremendous opportunity to form partnerships with
community providers for the first time," said Robert Booth, a psychiatry
professor and principal investigator.

The clinics are: Addiction Research and Treatment Services, Denver; Island
Grove Regional Treatment Center, Greeley; Crossroads Managed Care System,
Pueblo; Arapahoe/Douglas Mental Health Center; Denver Health.

All five clinics are part of the Signal Behavioral Network, which manages
three-quarters of all drug and alcohol abuse treatment dollars administered
through the Colorado Department of Human Services, Alcohol and Drug Abuse
Division.

"Clinical trials for drugs to treat conditions such as cancer and heart
disease have been conducted this way for years," Booth said. "This network
will ensure easy distribution of proven drug treatment therapies to many
more people across the nation."

Specifics of the trials have not been finalized, but it's likely a new drug
called bupanorprhine used to treat heroin addicts will be part of the
program. Preliminary studies show the drug may be safer and more convenient
for users than methodone.

Nationwide, the Clinical Trials Network will consist of 20 or 30 regional
research centers, each one linked to 10 or 15 community-based programs.

Last year, five universities received grants. CU was in the second batch of
grant recipients.

Contact Julie Poppen at (303) 892-5176 or poppenj@RockyMountainNews.com.