In 2020 the US recorded the highest 12-month count of opioid overdose deaths, > 70,0001, which represents a 40% increase since 2019, a > 250% increase since 20002, and is 1.7 times the number of deaths caused by automobile crashes in 20203. Approximately 4% of the US population aged 12 and older (10.1 million people) misused opioids in 2019, with 1.6 million people initiating new prescription opioid misuse4. The most recent annual estimate of the total economic burden of prescription opioid abuse and dependence in the US (2013) is over $78 billion5, including Medicaid spending of more than $8 billion on opioid addiction (OA) treatment6. By every metric, the opioid epidemic continues to be a tremendous burden, and the need to expand the medication-assisted treatment toolkit for OA through identification of new targets for drug development is clear7.
