Buprenorphine-Related Deaths Concern Officials December 3, 2002
News Summary
Two deaths in Florida linked to buprenorphine have federal officials concerned, since the government is encouraging private doctors to prescribe the drug to treat individuals with opiate addictions, the South Florida Sun-Sentinel reported Dec. 1."This is significant. It raises some questions about what role the drug played in deaths," said Robert Lubran, acting director of the Office of Pharmacologic and Alternative Therapies at the federal Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration in Rockville, Md.
The two deaths are believed to be the first in the country related to Buprenex, the trade name for buprenorphine marketed as a painkiller.
In Europe, buprenorphine has been used as an addiction treatment since the mid-1990s. But the use of injectable Buprenex for the treatment of opiate addiction has not been approved by the FDA, and doctors have been banned from using it since September 2000.
However, in October, the FDA recently approved the use of two pill-based formularies of buprenorphine to be used as a treatment for opiate addiction. Subutex and Suboxone, the pill forms of buprenorphine, are expected to be available in pharmacies next month.
The overdose deaths that have occurred were a result of combining buprenorphine with sedatives.
In the next few months, federal officials plan to conduct a nationwide campaign encouraging private physicians to complete an eight-hour training course in order to dispense Subutex and Suboxone.
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