CARI Health is developing a test to inform methadone dosing during visits
A clinician adjusting methadone treatment needs to understand how a patient responds to the medication. CARI Health is developing a way to add another piece of information to that decision: a measurement of the drug and how the patient metabolizes it. Its proposed point-of-care system is intended for clinicians treating people with opioid use disorder. By bringing testing closer to the visit, the company aims to make information available when treatment decisions are being made.
A measurement for the treatment decision
People process methadone at different rates, and the same dose can produce different drug levels. In its 2020 treatment guidance, the U.S. Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration says measurement can be useful in certain circumstances, but the therapeutic dose should depend on the patient’s overall response rather than blood levels alone.
The federal description of CARI Health’s Methadone Dosing System proposes a sensor that would assess a small finger-prick blood sample and estimate methadone metabolism. The project aims to provide results quickly enough to inform individualized dosing decisions.
That places CARI Health’s opportunity in the practical gap between a useful measurement and the clinician’s decision. If the system works as intended, a clinic could have a drug measurement available closer to the time it assesses a patient.