Chantix (varenicline) / Pfizer - LARVOL DELTA

Reach, Acceptability, and Effectiveness of Proactive Outreach and Varenicline with Cancer-Focused Counseling for Patients with Cancer: A Pilot Randomized Comparative Effectiveness Trial. (PubMed, JCO Oncol Adv) - "This pilot study produced evidence supporting the reach, acceptability, and potential effect sizes of enhanced and cancer-focused smoking cessation counseling and medication treatment for adult patients with cancer."

HEOR • Journal • Oncology • Tobacco Cessation

HARP: Off-Label Medications for Alcohol Use Disorder Among Patients With HIV: Pilot Study 2 (clinicaltrials.gov) - P2 | N=30 | Recruiting | Sponsor: Yale University | Trial completion date: Dec 2025 ➔ Aug 2026 | Trial primary completion date: Dec 2025 ➔ Aug 2026

Trial completion date • Trial primary completion date • Addiction (Opioid and Alcohol) • Human Immunodeficiency Virus • Infectious Disease • Nicotine Addiction • Tobacco Addiction

Contemporary Medical Management of Carotid Artery Stenosis. (PubMed, Semin Vasc Surg) - "Recommended lifestyle modifications emphasize adherence to a Mediterranean-style diet, regular physical activity, and smoking cessation, with pharmacologic support such as varenicline or combination nicotine replacement therapy as appropriate. Core medical therapies include low-dose aspirin monotherapy (or a P2Y12 receptor antagonist in cases of aspirin allergy or intolerance), high-intensity statin therapy, and blood pressure control. Patients with diabetes should be managed per current guidelines, with preference for SGLT2 inhibitors and GLP-1 receptor agonists due to their CV benefits."

Journal • Review • Allergy • Cardiovascular • Diabetes • Immunology • Metabolic Disorders • Myocardial Infarction • Tobacco Cessation

Anti-inflammatory and antioxidant effects of Lavandula stoechas L. on human macrophages and in silico prediction of α7 nicotinic acetylcholine receptor interaction. (PubMed, BMC Complement Med Ther) - No abstract available

Journal • Inflammation • Tobacco Cessation

Closing the Care Gap: Next-Generation Treatments for Cannabis, Nicotine, and Alcohol Use Disorders in Pediatric Primary Care (PAS 2026) - "For example, two new randomized clinical trials support prescribing varenicline for adolescents who vape nicotine [JAMA, 2025;333(21):1876-1886], and recommending a nationally available, free-of-charge, interactive text messaging platform, “This Is Quitting” [JAMA, 2024;332(9):713-721]...Identify practical, time-efficient digital and telehealth strategies that primary care clinicians can integrate into practice to improve access and outcomes for adolescents with SUDs. Discuss emerging directions in pediatric addiction care, including novel pharmacotherapies currently under investigation, and anticipate their potential impact on future models of primary care delivery."

Clinical • Addiction (Opioid and Alcohol) • CNS Disorders • Nicotine Addiction • Pediatrics • Substance Abuse

Electronic Cigarettes Versus Varenicline for Smoking Cessation: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis of in-person Support Augmentation Strategies. (PubMed, Indian J Community Med) - "However, the high risk of bias in the included studies necessitates cautious interpretation. Future research should focus on long-term outcomes and the psychological factors influencing cessation success to enhance public health strategies aimed at reducing smoking prevalence."

Journal • Retrospective data • Review • Infectious Disease • Tobacco Cessation

Varenicline for Smoking Reduction in Veterans Not Ready To Quit (clinicaltrials.gov) - P4 | N=400 | Not yet recruiting | Sponsor: VA Office of Research and Development | Trial completion date: Mar 2031 ➔ Jun 2030 | Initiation date: Apr 2026 ➔ Jul 2026 | Trial primary completion date: Mar 2031 ➔ Jun 2030

Trial completion date • Trial initiation date • Trial primary completion date • Nicotine Addiction • Tobacco Addiction

Determining the impact of cannabis use on tobacco cessation: Results from a prospective non-randomized tobacco treatment trial. (PubMed, Addiction) - "This is the first prospective study designed to compare tobacco cessation outcomes by cannabis co-use status. Regular cannabis co-use had a negative impact on tobacco abstinence among younger to middle-aged adults. Addressing cannabis use should be incorporated into standard tobacco treatment to improve cessation outcomes."

Journal • Tobacco Cessation

Novel Treatments for Adolescent Vaping Cessation: Are We There Yet? (PubMed, J Community Hosp Intern Med Perspect) - "Pharmacotherapy, particularly varenicline, may support quitting, though its role in adolescents is still under investigation. Pediatricians must address this issue through empathetic, multifaceted approaches that combine education, behavioral support, and emerging treatments to curb early nicotine dependence and its long-term health consequences."

Journal • CNS Disorders • Nicotine Addiction • Pediatrics • Psychiatry

Combination Nicotine Replacement Therapy, Cytisine, or Varenicline for Smoking Cessation (clinicaltrials.gov) - P4 | N=150 | Recruiting | Sponsor: Ottawa Heart Institute Research Corporation | N=1500 ➔ 150 | Trial completion date: Dec 2026 ➔ Oct 2027 | Trial primary completion date: Aug 2026 ➔ Apr 2027

Enrollment change • Trial completion date • Trial primary completion date • Tobacco Cessation

Varenicline and Ventricular Ectopy After Myocardial Infarction: A Randomized Phase 2 Study. (PubMed, J Am Coll Cardiol) - P2 | "In this phase 2 trial, varenicline significantly reduced PVC burden and nonsustained VT incidence in post-MI patients without evidence of a proarrhythmic effects. These findings support cardiac nAChRs as a potential antiarrhythmic target and justify further evaluation in larger outcome-driven trials. (Efficacy of Varenicline Tartrate in Treating Frequent Premature Ventricular Contractions: A Multicenter, Randomized, Double-Blind, Placebo-Controlled Trial [Var-PVC]; NCT06780215)."

Clinical • Journal • P2 data • Cardiovascular • Myocardial Infarction • Ventricular Tachycardia

Investigation of varenicline and tropisetron in latent inhibition and novel object recognition in mice. (PubMed, Sci Rep) - No abstract available

Journal • Preclinical

Comparative Effectiveness of Cytisinicline and Varenicline for Smoking Cessation: A Matching-adjusted Indirect Comparison (MAIC) (ATS 2026) - No abstract available

HEOR • Tobacco Cessation

Unequal Outcomes: Menthol Cigarettes and Reduced Varenicline Efficacy in African American Veterans (ATS 2026) - No abstract available

Clinical • Lung Cancer • Oncology • Solid Tumor

Understanding Nicotine Addiction: Personalizing Therapy for Smoking Cessation. (PubMed, Cardiol Rev) - "There are 3 first-line therapies designed for smoking cessation in combination with behavioral support; these include nicotine replacement therapy, varenicline, and bupropion. In response to this major challenge, there is an ongoing search for alternative therapies. The focus of this review is on cytisine, a smoking cessation aid widely used in eastern and central Europe as an additional tool for healthcare providers."

Journal • CNS Disorders • Nicotine Addiction • Psychiatry • Tobacco Cessation

ECSMOKE: Randomized Trial of Electronic Cigarettes With or Without Nicotine in Smoking Cessation. (clinicaltrials.gov) - P3 | N=650 | Recruiting | Sponsor: Assistance Publique - Hôpitaux de Paris | Not yet recruiting ➔ Recruiting

Enrollment open • Tobacco Cessation

ECSMOKE: Randomized Trial of Electronic Cigarettes With or Without Nicotine in Smoking Cessation. (clinicaltrials.gov) - P3 | N=650 | Not yet recruiting | Sponsor: Assistance Publique - Hôpitaux de Paris

New P3 trial • Tobacco Cessation

ECSMOKE: Randomized Trial of Electronic Cigarettes With or Without Nicotine in Smoking Cessation. (clinicaltrials.gov) - P3 | N=650 | Recruiting | Sponsor: Assistance Publique - Hôpitaux de Paris | Trial primary completion date: Mar 2019 ➔ May 2021

Trial primary completion date • Tobacco Cessation

Clinical Pharmacists, Medications, and Contingency Management for Targeting Smoking in HIV Clinics: A Randomized Clinical Trial. (PubMed, JAMA Netw Open) - P4 | "Stage 2 included either a switch to varenicline or bupropion or intensification to more rewards for abstinence. Optimal timing to add CM differed based on treatment goals. ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT04490057."

Clinical • Journal • Human Immunodeficiency Virus • Infectious Disease • Nicotine Addiction • Tobacco Addiction

Nicotinic acetylcholine receptors-targeting drug discovery. (PubMed, Eur J Med Chem) - "Despite clinical success with some candidate drugs like nicotine patch and varenicline for smoking cessation, broader therapeutic application has been limited by challenges in receptor selectivity, desensitization, and off-target effects. Here, we provide a concise overview of nAChR structural biology, outline the physiological and pathological significance of distinct receptor subtypes, and offer a comprehensive review of the progress in the discovery of nAChR-targeting ligands, either of natural toxins or small molecules, in preclinical conditions and their advances in clinical trials. We also discuss the prevailing challenges while underscoring emerging opportunities for future therapeutic innovation."

Journal • Review • ADHD (Impulsive Aggression) • Alzheimer's Disease • Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder • CNS Disorders • Mental Retardation • Nicotine Addiction • Pain • Psychiatry • Schizophrenia • Tobacco Cessation

Mutagenicity of N-nitroso-fluoxetine and N-nitroso-varenicline in human HepaRG cell models. (PubMed, Mutagenesis) - "In addition, the 14-day treatments of both 2D and 3D HepaRG cultures with N-nitroso-fluoxetine resulted in higher levels of mutagenesis than the 3-day treatments, while 3-day and 14-day treatments with N-nitroso-varenicline produced similar mutagenesis responses. These findings demonstrate the feasibility of employing HepaRG cells with HiFi-seq as a mammalian cell assay for assessing NDSRI mutagenesis."

Journal

Personalizing smoking cessation pharmacotherapy using neuroaffective reactivity profiles: A randomized controlled trial. (PubMed, Addiction) - "Smokers seeking to quit who attribute greater incentive salience to cigarette-related cues than non-cigarette-related rewards benefit more from varenicline than from nicotine replacement therapy. These findings support using neuroaffective biomarkers to inform personalized smoking cessation interventions."

Clinical • Journal • CNS Disorders • Mental Retardation • Psychiatry • Tobacco Cessation

Pharmacotherapy for Alcohol Craving Reduction: Efficacy of Short-Term Treatments in Alcohol Use Disorder. (PubMed, Medicines (Basel)) - "This review suggests that naltrexone and varenicline appear to be the most consistently supported short-term pharmacotherapies for alcohol craving within the available evidence, with promising but less consistent findings for memantine, acamprosate, and topiramate. These results highlight potential candidates for immediate craving management in AUD, while underscoring the need for larger and longer-term trials to confirm their efficacy and safety."

Clinical • Journal • Review • Addiction (Opioid and Alcohol) • Psychiatry

Smoking cessation for people with severe mental illness: systematic review and network meta-analysis. (PubMed, BMJ Med) - "Compared with placebo or minimal care, varenicline (10 more per 100 achieving long term smoking abstinence, 95% confidence interval (CI) 5 to 16; high certainty evidence) and bupropion (5 more per 100, 1 to 10; moderate certainty evidence) increased long term abstinence. Combined pharmacological and non-pharmacological approaches may offer more benefit (low certainty evidence), but the risk of serious adverse events for all interventions was very uncertain. PROSPERO CRD42022349498."

Journal • Retrospective data • Bipolar Disorder • CNS Disorders • Depression • Major Depressive Disorder • Mood Disorders • Post-traumatic Stress Disorder • Psychiatry • Schizophrenia • Tobacco Cessation

Emerging and Established Pharmacotherapies for Smoking Cessation: A Review. (PubMed, Cardiol Rev) - "Varenicline and combination nicotine replacement therapy continue to demonstrate the highest efficacy among first-line agents...Behavioral interventions, including counseling and contingency management, enhance pharmacologic outcomes, particularly when combined. While current therapies improve quit rates, absolute abstinence remains modest, supporting the need for further research into combination regimens, precision medicine approaches, and long-term safety of emerging treatments."

Journal • Cardiovascular • Nicotine Addiction • Tobacco Cessation