Web-Banner-for-LNC.jpg

News Capsules - July 2025


Initiating Injectable Buprenorphine During Hospitalization for Infection in Patients with Opioid Use Disorder

Hospitalizations due to infections associated with opioid use disorder (OUD) are rising in the United States, yet few patients begin medication treatment for OUD (MOUD) during their hospital stay. A randomized clinical trial, called the Coordinating Opioid Use Treatment Through Medical Management with Infection Treatment (COMMIT) trial examined whether starting long-acting injectable buprenorphine (LAB) alongside infectious disease care during hospitalization improves MOUD use at 12 weeks compared to usual care. Buprenorphine, a partial opioid agonist, is a medication approved to treat OUD by reducing withdrawal symptoms, cravings, and the risk of relapse while lowering the risk of overdose compared with full opioids.

READ MORE...

Empagliflozin Preserves Kidney Function and Reduces Heart Failure After Acute Myocardial Infarction

A secondary analysis of the EMPACT-MI trial (Study to Evaluate the Effect of Empagliflozin on Hospitalization for Heart Failure and Mortality in Patients with Acute Myocardial Infarction) evaluated the effects and safety of empagliflozin on kidney function, heart failure, and mortality in patients hospitalized with acute myocardial infarction (MI). Empagliflozin is a sodium–glucose co-transporter 2 (SGLT2) inhibitor used to lower blood sugar in type 2 diabetes, and has been shown to protect the heart and kidneys in patients with heart failure or chronic kidney disease. Nevertheless, the cardiovascular and kidney benefits of empagliflozin in patients after acute MI have not been well studied.

READ MORE...

Drug Discovered Using Artificial Intelligence, Rentosertib, Appears Safe and Effective in Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis

Few drugs discovered using artificial intelligence (AI) have advanced to human clinical trials. A recent study reports the first phase 2a trial of rentosertib, a novel AI-generated small-molecule inhibitor of TNIK, a TRAF2 and NCK-interacting protein kinase, in idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF). IPF is a progressive lung disease marked by scarring and inflammation, with no therapies available to reverse its course. Traditional drug discovery for complex diseases like IPF is slow, costly, and constrained by the need to manually evaluate thousands of molecular pathways and compounds. In the study, researchers used an AI-driven discovery platform to systematically identify disease-driving targets, pinpointing TNIK as a critical regulator of IPF because it regulates both fibrotic and inflammatory pathways that worsen lung damage.

READ MORE...

Investigational Drug Ziresovir Improves Symptoms in Infants Hospitalized with Respiratory Syncytial Virus

Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) is a serious respiratory infection in certain populations, especially very young infants. A randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial in infants aged 6 months or younger who were hospitalized with RSV examined the safety and efficacy of ziresovir, an investigational oral antiviral agent being specifically developed to treat RSV.

READ MORE...