Florey Institute of Neuroscience and Mental Health and St Vincent’s Hospital will run a proof-of-concept clinical trial of whether insomnia drug Belsomra can prevent a relapse in alcoholics, reports the Herald Sun.

The aim is to find a drug that can hijack the brain’s reward response and make alcohol no longer pleasurable.

“Some people can experiment with drugs and not become addicted,” he said. “It’s possible there is a molecular mechanism that protects many people from addiction.