Study wrapper · #1217
Evaluation of tirzepatide as an adjunct to buprenorphine for the treatment of opioid use disorder (TAB) trial: study design and rationale.
Editor's note
The addiction-medicine angle on GLP-1 drugs has so far run on animal data, observational cohorts, and anecdote; TAB is the first randomized trial to put tirzepatide to that test in opioid use disorder. The design is credible — double-blind, 9 sites, run by NIDA's Clinical Trials Network, with a hard retention endpoint. To be clear, this publication reports rationale and methods only; whether the drug moves retention or craving is an open question until the trial reads out. We flag it now because the readout will matter.
Plain-language abstract
This paper lays out the design of the TAB trial, the first randomized study to test whether tirzepatide can help people with opioid use disorder stay in buprenorphine-based care. About 310 adults across 9 US sites will be randomly assigned to tirzepatide or placebo alongside their buprenorphine, with the main question being whether more of them are still in the program at 6 months. The trial will also track illicit opioid use via urine samples and sleep via Fitbits. This is a protocol paper — the trial is underway, and there are no results yet.