Buprenorphine and Its Formulations: a Comprehensive Review

Overview

Journal Health Psychol Res

Date 2022 Aug 24

PMID 35999975

Authors

Salomon Poliwoda

Nazir Noor

Jack S Jenkins

Cain W Stark

Mattie Steib

Jamal Hasoon

Giustino Varrassi

Ivan Urits

Omar Viswanath

Adam M Kaye

Alan D Kaye

Affiliations

Soon will be listed here.

Abstract

Buprenorphine, a novel long-acting analgesic, was developed with the intention of two purposes: analgesia and opioid use disorder. Regarding its pharmacodynamics, it is a partial agonist at mu receptors, an inverse agonist at kappa receptors, and an antagonist at delta receptors. For the purpose of analgesia, three formulations of buprenorphine were developed: IV/IM injectable formulation (Buprenex®), transdermal patch formulation (Butrans®), and buccal film formulation (Belbuca®). Related to opioid dependence, the formulations developed were subcutaneous extended release (Sublocade®), subdermal implant (Probuphine®), and sublingual tablets (Subutex®). Lastly, in order to avoid misuse of buprenorphine for opioid dependence, two combination formulations paired with naloxone were developed: film formulation (Suboxone®) and tablet formulation (Zubsolv®). In this review, we present details of each formulation along with their similarities and differences between each other and clinical considerations.

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