The use of behavioral economic demand in human abuse potential assessment: A review and recommendations for future...

A key step in the regulatory evaluation of new chemical entities is the assessment of their abuse potential. Human abuse potential (HAP) studies provide insights into the likelihood that new chemical entities have the potential for intentional, nonmedical use and therefore should be considered for greater regulatory control. Behavioral economic demand methods are proposed as a complementary method to improve the resolution of abuse liability testing. These procedures are posited to provide scalar, rank-ordered comparisons of abuse potential that are comparable across drugs and to better model real-world contexts in which constraint and cost influence drug-taking potential. The current review considers the applicability of behavioral economic demand methods to HAP testing frameworks. We review existing studies that have applied procedures broadly consistent with HAP testing and integrated demand procedures to measure abuse potential and/or a drug reinforcement. Procedural details and the demand methods implemented are reviewed toward the goal of informing the methods for applying demand testing in the HAP study framework and the existing gaps in defining those methods. Ultimately, efforts to improve the sensitivity and resolution of assays to detect and differentiate abuse potential stand to improve public health by concentrating efforts on the adequate control of drugs that pose risk while minimizing the restrictions on those with a lower abuse potential to maximize their clinical utility. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2026 APA, all rights reserved).