FDA approves opioid addiction medication in implant form

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced that it has approved a buprenorphine implant for the treatment of opioid dependence this week.

Previously this medicine was approved for this purpose in pill and film form that was placed in a patient’s mouth or under the tongue until it dissolved. With an implant, patients are not required to take a daily dose of the medication, since the implant would last for six months. This approval was made as a part of the FDA’s efforts to address opioid addiction in the U.S.

Buprenorphine is one medication that is used in medication-assisted treatment (MAT) for addiction to prescription opioids and heroin. MAT consists of medication in addition to behavioral therapy and counseling. This medicine operates by lessening the symptoms of opioid withdrawal and decreases the urge to abuse the drugs.

“Scientific evidence suggests that maintenance treatment with these medications in the context of behavioral treatment and recovery support are more effective in the treatment of opioid use disorder than short-term detoxification programs aimed at abstinence,” Director of the National Institute on Drug Abuse in the National Institutes of Health Dr. Nora Volkow said. “This product will expand the treatment alternatives available to people suffering from an opioid use disorder.”