# Digital Aftercare Assessed: An Evaluation of the Pink Cloud Application in Post-Treatment Substance Use Disorder Support.

> **NIH NIH R44** · PINK CLOUD LLC · 2024 · $980,000

## Abstract

Project Summary
This Direct to Phase II SBIR initiative aims to comprehensively validate the Pink Cloud digital platform, a
groundbreaking mobile health application linked to the world's largest database of substance and alcohol use
disorder (SUD and AUD) 12-Step program treatment resources. This innovative platform, designed to
significantly reduce accessibility barriers and treatment disparities across diverse economic and demographic
groups, offers a user-friendly interface with a suite of robust features. These include a centralized database with
over 245,000 in-person and virtual meetings, a sobriety counter, customizable daily planners, resentment
diaries, and personal inventory lists, all aimed at promoting comprehensive care in SUD/AUD treatment. The
Pink Cloud app, available for free and with additional premium services at an affordable rate of $1 per month,
emphasizes user privacy and does not require personal information, usernames, or social media connections.
This commitment to confidentiality has contributed to the app's widespread adoption, with over 350,000 users
across 104 countries, including over 6,000 premium service customers. Despite its extensive user base and
anecdotal evidence of its effectiveness in promoting sobriety and aiding in recovery, Pink Cloud has not yet
been subjected to a rigorous, controlled clinical evaluation to ascertain its efficacy in the treatment of
SUD/AUD. The proposed study seeks to address this gap. It is structured in two distinct phases: the first phase
involves the research team enhancing the app with new features to improve user experience and marketability
(AIM 1). This includes the addition of automated meeting attendance tracking, provider search functionality,
and a 12-Step AI chatbot, and the introduction of coupon codes that will broaden the app's appeal to treatment
centers and insurance companies. The second phase constitutes a comprehensive RCT with 1,410 participants
in various stages of recovery. This trial is pivotal in determining whether access to Pink Cloud (vs. control) can
influence the duration of sobriety over a 6-month period and help to reduce substance use problems (AIM 2).
Potential mediators of these effects, such as meeting attendance history, sober social support network, and
engagement in recovery behaviors will also be evaluated. We will conduct an in-depth analysis of user
engagement within the app, identifying factors, such as race/ethnicity, gender, substance use history that may
predict participant interactions with its features with the RCT participants randomized to receive the Pink
Cloud app (AIM 3). Findings from the RCT will then inform the development of Pink Cloud’s new marketing
plan and materials (AIM 4) promoting the app as a tool treatment center can provide their client to improve
recovery and individuals can access on their own to accomplish the same. With an estimated market of 60
million people, the potential impact of Pink Cloud in transforming S...

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 11006659
- **Project number:** 1R44DA061662-01
- **Recipient organization:** PINK CLOUD LLC
- **Principal Investigator:** Joseph W. Labrie
- **Activity code:** R44 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2024
- **Award amount:** $980,000
- **Award type:** 1
- **Project period:** 2024-09-15 → 2026-08-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/11006659

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 11006659, Digital Aftercare Assessed: An Evaluation of the Pink Cloud Application in Post-Treatment Substance Use Disorder Support. (1R44DA061662-01). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-25 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/11006659. Licensed CC0.

---

*[NIH grants dataset](/datasets/nih-grants) · CC0 1.0*