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Heroin Addiction and Related Clinical Problems: 2024, 26, 42

Extended-release subcutaneous buprenorphine. The 3rd therapeutic revolution

Marc Reisinger

Digital Object Identifier:
https://doi.org/10.62401/2531-4122-2024-42

Summary: Vincent Dole described the discovery of methadone treatment for heroin addicts in 1963 as a "therapeutic revolution". Twenty years later, buprenorphine constituted a second therapeutic revolution. Therapeutic safety and the absence of euphoria give patients a high degree of autonomy, making it possible to bypass the lobby of addiction specialists who were blocking any progress in opioid agonist treatments in France, a country where high-dose buprenorphine was first introduced worldwide. Forty years on, extended-release subcutaneous buprenorphine is emerging as a third therapeutic revolution. Monthly injections make it easier to stop taking the drug, thanks to the elimination of the behavioural reinforcement of daily intake.

Keywords: Extended-release; Buprenorphine; Therapeutic Revolution