Where do we stand in the field of anti-abuse drug discovery?

Drug abuse and addiction to licit and illicit drugs constitute an almost worldwide health and socioeconomic problem. This problem can be addressed in a number of ways. As far as pharmaceutical development and drug therapy is concerned, abuse-deterrent formulations (ADF), substitution therapies, antagonist therapies, aversion therapies, and diverse novel approaches can be considered. ADF (or tamper-resistant formulations) are an important step towards preventing the abuse of medically used drugs, such as strong opioid analgesics, and some drug treatments are well established, such as substitution therapy in opioid dependence with methadone and buprenorphine. Nevertheless, a large medical need remains, and drugs that effectively curb opioid or psychostimulant addiction by promoting abstinence and preventing relapse have yet to be developed. Many different targets and mechanisms are currently being considered in preclinical research, but apart from repurposing or reformulating already known drugs, very little clinical development is currently ongoing. It is hoped that at least a few of the investigated approaches (e.g., various glutamate and GABA receptor modulators, nociceptin/orphanin FQ peptide receptor agonists, or histamine H3 receptor antagonists) reach the stage of clinical development and eventually reach regulatory approval.