Goals and rationale for pharmacotherapeutic approach in treating cocaine dependence: insights from basic and clinical research.

The early research conducted in the author’s laboratory from 1975 onward stemmed from the even earlier work, beginning in 1964 when the author was a member of the laboratory of Professor Vincent P. Dole at the Rockefeller Institute for Biomedical Research (now the Rockefeller University) (Dole et al. 1966; Kreek 1972, 1973a; Kreek et al. 1972). At that time, scientists were challenged to develop a treatment for opiate dependency, a problem that is still being addressed, but for which there are now three different pharmacotherapeutic approaches approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), and a fourth under investigation. This chapter will review briefly some of the early concepts because they are relevant for the current major problem: developing a new medication (and possibly a variety of medications) for treating cocaine dependency.