Sharp punch back from ALKS & hews to the line CEO outlined at the Govt meeting on addiction.... one size doesn’t fit all… EVERY treatment modality must be available to clinician & patient for customization which will statistically increase the likelihood of a successful outcome… Harris is digging into historical claims ALKS sales reps made to wardens in jails & local politicians that likely marketed the efficacy of Vivitrol at the expense of the other modalities despite ALKS CEO's recent eloquent statements.... still, if ALKS continues to emphasize its current mantra, Harris will have an uphill road to take any scalps right now… interesting the note that “the blockade produced by Vivitrol is surmountable”.. anyone who has worked w/the addicted can attest that they are generally as adept as chemists, or think they are, in their ability to fool standard urinalysis tests & get high despite the use of mandated antagonists (like when a patient is coerced to take the shot and not yet committed to sobriety) … “the plasma concentration of exogenous opioids attained immediately following their acute administration may be sufficient to overcome the competitive receptor blockade” … and by the same token, the addicts who think they can outwit the chemical constraints of Vivitrol by using Heroin say, on the 25th day following injection, as the blockade of the antagonist ?, the response from ALKS goes on to state.. “use of previously tolerated doses of opioids could result in potentially life-threatening opioid intoxication…cases of opioid overdose with fatal outcomes have been reported in patients who used opioids at the end of a dosing interval, after missing a schedule dose, or after discontinuing treatment”… oh and in an emergency when they need narcotics to deal w/pain?… not an option unless patients are “closely monitored by trained personnel in a setting staffed and equipped for CPR (sounds like an ICU)”… well an implant can just be removed in those circumstances… advantage proneura!
