VCU drug institute gets $150,000 gift from British company

By Lorraine Cichowski and J. Randy Kock

RICHMOND, Va. – The Institute for Drug and Alcohol Studies at Virginia Commonwealth University has been given a $150,000 gift by the U.S. pharmaceuticals subsidiary of British consumer and health care products company, Reckitt Benckiser plc.

The gift, made to the Medical College of Virginia Foundation on behalf of the institute, will be used to further educational efforts and policy research on addiction. The institute is recognized internationally for its substance abuse research that spans the disciplines of medicinal chemistry, molecular biology, pharmacology, psychiatry, behavioral sciences and community-based treatment and prevention.

“This very generous gift will not only contribute to our overall efforts to understand drug addiction and develop new treatments, but it will help us broaden the focus of the institute to include research on how changes in public policy can help us improve treatment for persons with substance-use disorders,” said Robert Balster, Ph.D., institute director and professor of pharmacology and toxicology.

A major focus of the institute’s research is the biological basis for the actions of drugs of abuse on the brain. Significant contributions have been made to the study of cocaine, opiates, marijuana, alcohol, hallucinogens, tobacco, inhalants and PCP. The VCU research has been particularly valuable in providing the scientific basis for developing new drug abuse treatments. Other important areas of substance abuse research include the study of behavioral and genetic factors related to drug addiction and the evaluation of new medications for abuse potential. The institute’s more than 40 faculty members also have made major contributions to the study of youth tobacco use and dependence.

The focus on multi-disciplinary research has enabled VCU to become one of the leading universities in the world in attracting research support for studies of alcohol, tobacco and other drugs. In 2003, institute faculty generated more than $18 million in external funding from federal, state and private sources including the National Institute on Drug Abuse, National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, Center for Substance Abuse Treatment, Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and Virginia Tobacco Settlement Foundation. 

Reckitt Benckiser products include many world-leading brands such as Calgon water softeners, Woolite fabric detergents and Lysol disinfectant. The company also makes antiseptics and health and personal care products. The pharmaceuticals division products include Suboxone, a new treatment for opiate dependence developed under a cooperative research and development agreement with the National Institute on Drug Abuse.