18 Business View Magazine - June 2016
Opening
Lines
FDA Approves First Buprenorphine Implant
for Treatment of Opioid Dependence
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved
Probuphine, the first buprenorphine implant for the
maintenance treatment of opioid dependence. Pro-
buphine 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 today, buprenorphine for the treatment of opi-
oid dependence was only approved as a pill or a film
placed under the tongue or on the inside of a per-
Expanded use and availability of medication-assisted treatment is a top
priority of federal effort to combat opioid epidemic
