Originally Posted 3/3/2013 What a crazy week for buprenorphine. I’ve written about the FDA slapping the face of Reckitt Benckiser by denying their Citizens’ Petition. Adding insult to injury, the FDA then approved two generic formulations of Suboxone tabs (actually, the correct name is buprenorphine/naloxone combination tabs). Stock in RB dropped about Read more…
Originally Posted 2/23/2013 I’ve written in detail about the bold move by Reckitt-Benckiser, maker of Suboxone, that few people outside the company saw coming. In brief, the company has been cruising across the Atlantic for the past ten years, fueled by stellar growth of its flagship medication, even as the expiration of Read more…
Regarding a prior post, I carefully read through the entire Citizens Petition’ filed with the FDA by Reckitt-Benckiser. I have a better understanding of what, exactly, was accomplished by that action by the manufacturer of Suboxone. The document explains that the company hired an independent group, RADARS (Researched Abuse, Diversion, and Read more…
This is a repost of an article from 10/2/2012 I’m going to start by paraphrasing John Le Carre’s comments in his book The Constant Gardener: “Nobody in the letter below is based upon an actual person or outfit in the real world. But I can tell you this; as my knowledge of the pharmaceutical Read more…
As I give my last post more thought…. I wonder if there is ANY clinical difference between $uboxone at $7 per dose, vs. generic buprenorphine at $2.33 per dose? Researchers out there– can anyone send me a reference? A review of the science shows that Suboxone is clinically identical to Read more…
I have shared my thoughts about ‘Suboxone Film,’ a product that serves only one purpose: to block generic competition from entering the Suboxone market. Below I’ve copied a Bloomberg article that discusses the current nature of the buprenorphine/naloxone business, and the efforts by RB to prevent market penetration by generics– Read more…
I just wrote a note to a friend who works in the molecular sciences– she has been studying opioid receptors since the early 1980’s, when things were just getting started on a molecular level. I’m keeping her name to myself, but I’ll share a few thoughts about what is needed to Read more…
I recently resumed writing for the expert forum on addiction at MedHelp.Org. One result of writing for MedHelp is that I receive a number of e-mails from people with questions about specific issues related to buprenorphine. The most common questions are from people on buprenorphine undergoing surgery, asking about the Read more…
I received notice today from the area’s Reckitt-Benckiser rep that the company has secured a mini-coup of sorts, requiring state of WI Medicaid subscribers on buprenorphine to use the Suboxone Film formulation. Here is the notice I received: Wisconsin State Medicaid has as of December 1st today added Suboxone Sublingual Read more…
I’ll take a break from the book to post a question and answer with a reader: My daughter’s doctor recently started prescribing her a pill called only ‘buprenorphine,’ instead of her usual Suboxone. Should I be concerned about the change? My answer: You don’t mention the age of your daughter, Read more…
It is humorous when companies do what Reckitt-Benckiser recently did– make a small change in their product, then trash the old product in favor of the new, more expensive product. “The OLD formulation is GARBAGE! It poses huge risks! It is reckless and irresponsible to prescribe that tablet (the one Read more…
Hi all! Sorry for the lapse in posting… I have been gearing up to blog for Psych Central, an opportunity that I am very excited about, and I have a hard time writing one blog and being excited about a second blog at the same time! Please be sure to Read more…