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Cocaine Use DisorderAddictionPeptides and GLP-1Mental healthBehavioralDrugBehavioralPhase 2

What this study is

The purpose of this study is to evaluate semaglutide, a glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonist (GLP-1RA), in combination with cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) for the treatment of cocaine use disorder (CUD). This project is part of the NIH Helping to End Addiction Long-term (HEAL) initiative (https://heal.nih.gov/).

What's being tested

  • Semaglutide

    Intervention · DRUG

    Participants will receive 14 weekly injections administered subcutaneously. Semaglutide will be initiated at a dose of 0.25 mg once weekly. After 4 weeks, the dose will be increased to 0.5 mg once weekly for an additional 4 weeks. Thereafter, the dose will be increased to 1 mg once weekly for 6 weeks

  • Placebo

    Intervention · DRUG

    Sterile saline (0.9%) will serve as the placebo for semaglutide and will be administered subcutaneously once-weekly for 14 weeks. The placebo will be administered in the same blinded manner as semaglutide and will be volume-matched.

  • cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT).

    Intervention · BEHAVIORAL

    Participants will receive fourteen weekly 1-hour sessions of individual cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), an evidence-based behavioral therapy platform for evaluating pharmacotherapy for CUD. CBT focuses on (1) identifying situations that precipitate drug use and (2) preventing relapse by teaching cognitive and behavioral skills to reduce risk.

Study details

Official title
Repurposing Semaglutide for the Treatment of Cocaine Use Disorder: a Pilot Mechanistic Study
Sponsor
The University of Texas Health Science Center, Houston
Conditions
Cocaine Use Disorder
Enrolling
75 people
Starts
2026-01-15
Est. completion
2029-02-28
Design
Quadruple-blind, randomized, parallel groups, Phase 2
Record
View on ClinicalTrials.gov ↗