Subutex/Suboxone

History

Reckitt & Colman (now Reckitt Benckiser), and McFarlin Smith, began trials with buprenorphine on human subjects in 1971, in 1978 buprenorphine was first launched in the UK as an injection to treat severe pain, with a sublingual formulation released in 1982. The drug was marketed intensively towards the end of the 1990’s as Subutex, with its decreased respiratory action compared to full opiate agonists as its major selling point. Temgesic had already gained a relatively modest reputation as an opioid analgesic, but its progress was set-back by strong anecdotal experience of patients injecting the tablets, particularly in Scotland in the 1980’s. The adoption of Subutex as a treatment of equal first choice (with methadone) by NICE for opiate dependence ensured its widespread use in addiction treatment.