Addiction Research and Education Foundation

What Addiction Research and Education Foundation does

Addiction Research and Education Foundation (AREF) is a private nonprofit research foundation founded in 2014 by Dr. Amanda Wilson, MD, FASAM, headquartered in Gig Harbor, Washington with a secondary contact presence in Florence, Massachusetts. The organization conducts and publishes peer-reviewed research on evidence-based treatment protocols for addiction disorders, with a primary focus on opioid use disorder, and facilitates clinician education in addiction medicine. AREF's core activities are organized around three NIH/NIDA-funded research collaborations: a five-year study (2017-2022) with Columbia University on patient characteristics and treatment barriers affecting medication-assisted treatment retention, and two collaborations with PEAR Therapeutics developing a virtual-reality peer support environment (2017-2018) and a gamified digital therapy intervention (2017-2020) to improve patient engagement in OUD treatment.

AREF does not generate commercial revenue and does not sell software products or services. The foundation is funded by NIH/NIDA grants channelled through research collaborations and by charitable donations processed via its Squarespace-hosted website. Its outputs are academic publications and clinician education, with two notable peer-reviewed papers published in 2018 — one in Annals of Internal Medicine on the next stage of buprenorphine care for opioid use disorder, and one in PMC-indexed literature on integrating hepatitis C treatment into addiction care settings. The organization is led by Dr. Amanda Wilson as Founder and Lisa Chiodo, PhD, as Director of Research, with Stephen Martin, MD serving as advisor and Angelo Cruz as research assistant.

AREF's served audiences are principally U.S.-based healthcare providers in addiction medicine and the patient population suffering from addiction disorders, particularly opioid use disorder. Distribution of outputs occurs through academic journals and clinical partnerships rather than direct sales channels. The foundation derives strategic legitimacy from its founder's parallel leadership of CleanSlate Centers, the largest addiction medicine medical practice in the United States, and from its federally funded research consortia with Columbia University and PEAR Therapeutics.

Name

Addiction Research and Education Foundation

Legal name

Addiction Research and Education Foundation

Website

https://addictionref.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2014

Operating status

Operating

Short description

Addiction Research and Education Foundation is a private nonprofit research foundation that conducts and publishes peer-reviewed evidence-based research on opioid use disorder treatment protocols and clinician education, funded primarily by NIH/NIDA grants through collaborations with Columbia University and PEAR Therapeutics.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Addiction Medicine Research

NAICS

Research and Development in the Social Sciences and Humanities (541720)

SIC

Services-Commercial Physical & Biological Research (8731), Services-Health Services (8000)

akta.pro industry

PRIMARYBPAGACAE

Substance Use Disorder Prevention & Recovery Services

Business & Public Services/Nonprofit, NGO & Social Services/Health & Medical Nonprofits

SECONDARYHLAFACAG

Medication-Assisted Treatment (MAT) & Opioid Treatment Programs (OTPs)

Healthcare & Life Sciences/Healthcare Providers & Systems/Behavioral Health & Substance Use Treatment

SECONDARYHLALAEAD

Substance Use Disorder (SUD) & Addiction Teletherapy Platforms

Healthcare & Life Sciences/Telehealth Platforms/Behavioral & Mental Health Teletherapy Platforms

SECONDARYHLACAFAD

Behavioral Health & Substance Use Remote Monitoring

Healthcare & Life Sciences/Digital Health & Health IT/Remote Patient Monitoring (RPM) & Connected Care Platforms

Keywords

• Addiction medicine research
• Substance use research
• Opioid use disorder
• Clinician education programs
• Evidence-based treatment research

Headquarters

HQ city

Gig Harbor

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D

Marketing channels1 record

Core offering

AREF conducts and publishes research on the most effective treatment protocols for individuals with addiction disorders and facilitates the education of clinicians treating persons with addiction. Its work includes evidence-based research on opioid use disorder treatment, hepatitis C management integrated with addiction care, and the development of digital interventions such as virtual reality peer support environments and gamified OUD therapies.

Product overview

Addiction Research and Education Foundation (AREF) is a nonprofit research organization focused on advancing the science of addiction medicine through evidence-based research and clinician education. AREF does not offer commercial software products or technology platforms. Its primary offerings consist of conducting and publishing research on addiction treatment protocols, facilitating clinician education, and collaborating with academic and industry partners on research initiatives related to substance use disorder treatment. The organization has produced publications on hepatitis C treatment in addiction care settings and buprenorphine care for opioid use disorder, and has participated in research collaborations involving virtual reality environments and gamified interventions for opioid use disorder.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Virtual Environment Peer Support Research Program A research program developing virtual reality environments designed to facilitate peer support groups for individuals recovering from opioid use disorder. Developed for the addiction medicine research community and clinicians treating OUD patients.
• Game-based Intervention for OUD Research Program A research program developing a gamified digital therapy designed to improve patient engagement with opioid use disorder treatment. Developed for the addiction medicine research community and clinicians treating OUD patients.
• MAT Treatment Barrier Research Program A long-running research collaboration studying patient characteristics and actionable treatment barriers independently associated with treatment response and superior clinical outcomes in medication-assisted treatment, intended to inform strategies to improve MAT initiation and retention across substance abuse treatment settings.
• Evidence-based Addiction Medicine Research Publications Peer-reviewed academic publications disseminating evidence-based research findings on addiction medicine treatment protocols, including hepatitis C management integrated with addiction care and buprenorphine care for opioid use disorder, targeted at clinicians and researchers in addiction medicine.

Quantifiable outcome

• The goal is to achieve dramatic improvements in patients' lives and significant reduction of drug overdose deaths through improved treatment protocols

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature2 records

Partnerships

Two partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• PEAR TherapeuticscoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2017AREF collaborated with PEAR Therapeutics on two NIH/NIDA-funded research projects: (1) developing a virtual environment to enhance patient engagement in peer support for opioid use disorder (2017-2018), and (2) developing a game-based intervention for opioid use disorder to improve patient engagement with treatment (2017-2020).
• Columbia UniversitycoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2017AREF collaborated with Columbia University (Principle Investigator: A. Robin Williams) on NIH/NIDA-funded research (2017-2022) to identify patient characteristics and actionable treatment barriers associated with superior clinical outcomes, aiming to improve medication-assisted treatment initiation and retention.

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• PEAR Therapeutics: PEAR Therapeutics was a leading prescription digital therapeutics company that developed reSET and reSET-O for opioid use disorder. AREF collaborated directly with PEAR on both its VR peer support and gamified OUD intervention projects.
• CleanSlate Centers: CleanSlate Centers is the largest addiction medicine medical practice in the U.S., founded and chaired by AREF's founder Dr. Amanda Wilson. It provides the clinical foundation and patient population that informs AREF's research agenda.
• National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse: CASA at Columbia University is a leading nonprofit research organization focused on addiction and substance use. It is directly comparable to AREF as a research-focused nonprofit addressing substance use disorders with academic partnerships.
• Center for Addiction and Mental Health: CAMH is Canada's largest mental health and addiction teaching hospital and a leading research institution. It is comparable to AREF as a research-focused organization advancing the science of addiction medicine.

Broad incumbents

• Hazelden Betty Ford Foundation: Hazelden Betty Ford is a large, established nonprofit addiction treatment and research organization. It is comparable to AREF as a nonprofit conducting addiction medicine research and clinician education, though at significantly greater scale.
• Alkermes: Alkermes is a biopharmaceutical company developing medicines for addiction (including Vivitrol for opioid and alcohol use disorders). It is broadly comparable to AREF as a stakeholder advancing addiction pharmacotherapy, though as a commercial pharma player.
• Indivior: Indivior is a pharmaceutical company specializing in opioid use disorder treatments, including buprenorphine-based therapies (Suboxone). AREF has published extensively on buprenorphine care, making Indivior an adjacent comparable.

Emerging players

• Shatterproof: Shatterproof is a national nonprofit focused on addiction prevention, treatment, and recovery, combining research with advocacy. It overlaps with AREF on the substance use disorder research and education mission.
• Pelago: Pelago (formerly Quit Genius) is a digital therapeutics company focused on substance use management, including opioid use disorder. It overlaps with AREF's digital therapeutics research agenda for OUD.
• Workit Health: Workit Health is a digital addiction treatment platform offering virtual care for substance use disorders including OUD. It is comparable to AREF's digital intervention research as a scaled operator in the same therapeutic area.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles4 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about Addiction Research and Education Foundation