Treating opioid use during pregnancy to take center stage during Addiction Center series

Treating opioid use during pregnancy to take center stage during Addiction Center series

UC researcher's clinical trial draws national attention

A University of Cincinnati researcher has led the first-ever randomized clinical trial testing weekly injectable extended-release buprenorphine as a treatment for opioid use disorder (OUD) in patients who are pregnant - and the results, published in JAMA Internal Medicine and by the National Institutes of Health (NIH), and covered by major outlets including MedPage Today and Medscape, are reshaping how clinicians think about addiction care during pregnancy.

On Wednesday, June 10, at 12 p.m., the UC/UC Health Addiction Center will host the first event of its 2026 Summer Speaker Series, bringing research directly to the public - and doing so in a way rarely seen in academic medicine. The session, titled "Beyond Daily Dosing: Comparing Extended-Release and Sublingual Buprenorphine for Opioid Use Disorder in Pregnancy and Postpartum - Research Evidence and Lived Experience," will feature not only the trial's principal investigator but also one of the participants.

The event is free, open to the public and held virtually.

A first-of-its-kind trial

T. John Winhusen, PhD, Donald C. Harrison endowed chair in medicine, vice chair of addiction sciences and professor in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Neuroscience at UC's College of Medicine, led the multicenter trial - known as MOMs - across 13 U.S. sites between 2020 and 2024.

The trial enrolled 140 pregnant adults with OUD and randomized them to receive either weekly subcutaneous (under-the-skin) injections of extended-release buprenorphine or daily sublingual buprenorphine - a medication placed under the tongue that has long been a cornerstone of OUD treatment during pregnancy. Participants were followed through 12 months postpartum.

The findings were striking. Participants receiving weekly injectable extended-release buprenorphine had significantly higher rates of abstinence from illicit opioids during pregnancy - 82.5% compared to 72.6% for those on sublingual treatment. Serious adverse events were also substantially less common in the extended-release group, both during pregnancy and postpartum.

"We knew that injectable extended-release buprenorphine leads to superior rates of illicit opioid abstinence in non-pregnant adults, but there had been no completed randomized clinical trial testing its use during pregnancy," said Winhusen. "It is exciting to share the results of this trial, which have immediate clinical application. This longer-acting medication can safely and more effectively support treatment and recovery in pregnant patients."

Why this matters - and why now

Opioid use disorder during pregnancy carries serious risks for both mother and child, including the risk of fatal overdose and the development of neonatal opioid withdrawal syndrome (NOWS) in newborns. While sublingual buprenorphine has been an effective treatment, it comes with real-world challenges: the need for daily dosing, fluctuating medication levels throughout the day and risks of missed doses or misuse.

Extended-release buprenorphine addresses many of those challenges by delivering a more consistent level of medication through a weekly injection - reducing the peaks and troughs that can leave patients vulnerable to cravings and relapse.

Critically, the MOMs trial found that neonatal outcomes were comparable between the two treatment groups - NOWS rates and treatment duration did not differ significantly - a reassuring finding given the higher overall buprenorphine exposure associated with the injectable formulation.

Nora D. Volkow, MD, director of NIH's National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA), called the findings "clinically valuable," noting that they demonstrate the injectable extended-release formulation "is safe to use in pregnancy and results in better opioid abstinence outcomes compared to sublingual buprenorphine - especially relevant in the context of the ongoing opioid overdose crisis and public health emergency."

The study was supported by NIDA's Clinical Trials Network through the NIH Helping to End Addiction Long-term® (HEAL) Initiative.

A conversation that goes beyond data

What makes the June 10 event particularly distinctive is who will be sitting alongside Winhusen.

Kelsie Buchanan - a recovery advocate, public speaker and participant in the MOMs clinical trial - will serve as co-presenter, sharing her firsthand experience as someone who was part of the research that produced these results. Her perspective promises to bring a dimension to the discussion that published data alone cannot: what it actually felt like to navigate pregnancy, OUD treatment and participation in a clinical trial.

Attendees will have the unique opportunity to hear firsthand from a trial participant, which is what makes this session stand apart from a traditional academic lecture. For clinicians, patients, advocates and members of the public alike, hearing lived experience alongside research evidence offers a fuller, more human picture of what these treatments mean in practice.

Join the conversation on June 10

The June 10 event kicks off this year's UC/UC Health Addiction Center Summer Speaker Series - a returning series that brings together researchers, clinicians and the broader community for monthly conversations on addiction science and care. All presentations are free, virtual and open to the public.

• Event: Beyond Daily Dosing: Comparing Extended-Release and Sublingual Buprenorphine for Opioid Use Disorder in Pregnancy and Postpartum - Research Evidence and Lived Experience
• Date: Wednesday, June 10, 2026
• Time: 12:00 p.m.
• Format: Virtual, free and open to the public
• Register: Register for any of the Summer Speaker Series presentations here: https://med.uc.edu/institutes/ACR/summer-speaker-series/speaker-series-2026
• Questions: Contact Jennifer Rowe at [email protected]

Help is available

If you or someone you know is struggling with opioid use disorder or is in crisis, help is available. Call or text 988 or chat at 988lifeline.org. To find support for mental health, drug or alcohol conditions, visit FindSupport.gov. For local care, please contact the UC Health Addiction Specialty Outpatient and Intensive Outpatient Treatment Program at (513) 585-8227. To locate a treatment facility or provider nationwide, visit FindTreatment.gov or call (800) 662-HELP (4357).

Featured image at top: Unsplash. CC0/Public Domain.

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