FDA approves first buprenorphine implant

The US Food and Drug Administration has approved the first buprenorphine implant for the maintenance treatment of opioid dependence.

Probuphine is designed to provide a constant, low-level dose of buprenorphine for six months in patients who are already stable on low-to-moderate doses of other forms of buprenorphine, as part of a complete treatment program.

Until now, buprenorphine for the treatment of opioid dependence was only approved as a pill or a film placed under the tongue or on the inside of a person’s cheek until it dissolved but while effective, a pill or film may be lost, forgotten or stolen.