Suboxone Approved for Drug Addiction Treatment in The European Union
For once, the United States is ahead of the game when it comes to progressive drug approval. In 2002, the U.S. made a breakthrough decision in allowing buprenorphine to be prescribed for drug addiction treatment from a doctor’s office setting as opposed to confining its use to drug treatment clinics exclusively like methadone. Consequently, Subutex and Suboxone have enjoyed five years of unparalleled success as thousands have taken advantage of the new ruling and recovered from physical addiction to opiate-based prescription medications and street drugs like heroin.
Finally, the European Commission has caught on and announced its approval for Suboxone—a combination of buprenorphine and naloxone—to be prescribed in substitution treatment for opioid dependence. With the understanding that those who make use of the drug are 15 years of age or older and have agreed to be treated for addiction in this way, the European Union has made Suboxone the one and only treatment medication for opiate addiction that is agreed upon by all 25 member countries.
The main goal of this approval is to decrease the use of needles in drug use and the sharing of those needles among users which can lead to the transmission of diseases like HIV, hepatitis C and hepatitis B. However, those who are addicted to painkillers can take advantage of the new ruling and successfully treat their addiction as well, a benefit even if not the intended purpose.
Professor John Strang, MD is the director of the National Addiction Centre in London. He says: “There is a pressing need for improved opioid treatment medications with decreased potential for misuse in order to help further expand effective treatment into mainstream medical settings, and thereby improve patient access to treatment. With the approval of Suboxone, the European medical and patient communities now have another safe and effective option for managing opioid dependence.”
Robert J. Spiegel, MD is the chief medical officer and senior vice president at Schering-Plough Research Institute where Suboxone and Subutex were developed. He agrees with Strang: “The European Commission’s approval of Suboxone represents an important advance in public health. Opioid dependence is a chronic relapsing medical condition that requires long-term treatment and patient support. Suboxone was expressly designed to provide the proven efficacy and tolerability of Subutex (buprenorphine) with a lower potential for misuse.”
Subutex is approved for treatment in the EU, the U.S. and 30 other countries around the world.
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