Suvorexant as an Adjunct to Buprenorphine in Persons Who Use Fentanyl

NCT ID: NCT05145764

Last Updated: 2025-08-11

Basic Information

• Recruitment Status: RECRUITING
• Clinical Phase: PHASE2
• Total Enrollment: 120 participants
• Study Classification: INTERVENTIONAL
• Study Start Date: 2022-03-30
• Study Completion Date: 2026-08-31

Brief Summary

This is a 4-week, randomized-controlled trial of suvorexant vs placebo in persons with opioid use disorder who have recent fentanyl exposure. Participants will first undergo a 5-day residential phase wherein participants are stabilized on sublingual buprenorphine/naloxone, followed by a 3-week outpatient phase wherein participants are maintained on sublingual buprenorphine/naloxone and transitioned to extended-release buprenorphine).

Detailed Description

This study will enroll persons with opioid use disorder (N=120) who have recent fentanyl exposure (as assessed via urinalysis testing). Participants will be randomized to receive suvorexant or placebo for the duration of the study enrollment, which will serve as the between-groups experimental comparison. The study will consist of a brief (5 day) residential phase and 3-week outpatient phase. During the residential phase, all participants will be briefly maintained on a short acting opioid prior to induction onto sublingual (SL) buprenorphine (using either the buprenorphine or buprenorphine/naloxone product). At the end of the 5-day residential period, participants will be discharged to complete the ~3-week outpatient phase. During the outpatient period all participants will be maintained on SL buprenorphine/naloxone and continue to receive suvorexant or placebo, and at the end of the study participants will receive an injection of XR-buprenorphine (Sublocade). All buprenorphine procedures will be open label and will follow standard-of-care practices. Study medication during the outpatient period will be managed using an automated pill dispenser. Data collection will consist of forehead-based EEG monitoring, wrist-worn actigraphy/photoplethysmography, and questionnaires delivered during study visits or via cell-phone based ecological momentary assessments.

Conditions

Suvorexant; Placebo; Opioid Use Disorder

Study Design

• Allocation Method: RANDOMIZED
• Intervention Model: PARALLEL
• Primary Study Purpose: TREATMENT
• Blinding Strategy: QUADRUPLE

Study Groups

Suvorexant

Nightly dosing of suvorexant

Group Type: EXPERIMENTAL

Suvorexant

Intervention Type: DRUG

Encapsulated suvorexant (matched for color, weight, and size)

Placebo

Nightly dosing of placebo

Group Type: PLACEBO_COMPARATOR

Placebo

Intervention Type: DRUG

Encapsulated placebo (matched for color, weight, and size)

Interventions

Suvorexant

Encapsulated suvorexant (matched for color, weight, and size)

Intervention Type: DRUG

Placebo

Encapsulated placebo (matched for color, weight, and size)

Intervention Type: DRUG

Eligibility Criteria

Inclusion Criteria

• Aged 18-65
• Meets DSM-5 criteria for opioid use disorder (OUD) with evidence of physical dependence on opioids
• Provides a urine sample that tests positive for fentanyl and/or fentanyl analogues
• Interest in being maintained on buprenorphine for OUD
• Plans to reside in current area for study period
• Achieving a study maintenance dose of >=8mg sublingual buprenorphine/naloxone
• Willing to comply with study protocol
• Have no clinically significant chronic medical or surgical disorders or conditions that are judged by the investigators to prevent participation

Exclusion Criteria

• Medically contraindicated for buprenorphine, extended-release (XR)-buprenorphine (Sublocade), or suvorexant (as per medication labels)
• Pregnant or breast feeding
• Severe Diagnostic and Statistical Manual (DSM)-5 alcohol or benzodiazepine use disorder or evidence of alcohol/benzodiazepine physical dependence
• Have a known allergy to the study medications
• Past 30-day prescribed use of suvorexant for the indication of insomnia
• Current benzodiazepine or other prescribed medication for the indication of insomnia
• Urine sample testing positive for benzodiazepine at screening and admission to residential treatment
• Current narcolepsy, restless leg syndrome or sleep paralysis
• High risk for current sleep apnea
• Current (past 30-day) suicidal behaviors
• Severe hepatic or renal impairment

• aspartate aminotransferase (AST) or alanine aminotransferase (ALT) >3x upper limit of normal (ULN)
• Total bilirubin >2x ULN
• Creatinine >1.5x ULN
• Past year clinically-significant psychiatric condition judged to interfere with study participation
• Lack of access to stable housing (necessary for electronic pill dispenser charging)
• Have circumstances that would interfere with study participation (e.g., impending jail)

• Minimum Eligible Age: 18 Years
• Maximum Eligible Age: 65 Years
• Eligible Sex: ALL
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: No

Sponsors

National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA)

NIH

Sponsor Role: collaborator

Johns Hopkins University

OTHER

Sponsor Role: lead

Responsible Party

Responsibility Role: SPONSOR

Principal Investigators

Andrew S Huhn, Ph.D.

Role: PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR

Johns Hopkins University

Locations

Johns Hopkins Bayview Medical Center

Baltimore, Maryland, United States

Site Status: RECRUITING

Countries

United States

Central Contacts

Andrew S Huhn, Ph.D.

Role: CONTACT

ahuhn1@jhu.edu

410-550-1971

Kelly E Dunn, Ph.D.

Role: CONTACT

kdunn9@jhmi.edu

410-550-2254

Facility Contacts

Andrew S Huhn, Ph.D.

Role: primary

ahuhn1@jhu.edu

410-550-1971

Other Identifiers

UH3DA048734

Identifier Type: NIH

Identifier Source: secondary_id

View Link

IRB00301337

Identifier Type: -

Identifier Source: org_study_id