Canadians with opioid addiction can now be eligible for an implant providing a low dose of continuous drug at a rate of 8 mg / day for a period of six months to one year. This is what the agency reveals Canadian press this March 3, relayed by the National Post.
This involves inserting match-size “sticks” into the patient’s arm. They contain buprenorphine (Suboxone), a substance used for the replacement treatment of opioid dependence, given in small amounts each day. The main advantage of the implant is that it eliminates daily intake of Suboxone in tablets. A habit that can be complicated for drug addicts struggling at the same time against poverty, housing problems or unemployment … It also helps to avoid the risks of misuse treatments, and relieves the necessary surveillance around them.
A viable alternative to Suboxone
The device was approved by Health Canada in April 2018, two years after authorization in the United States. It is marketed under the brand Probuphine from Montreal-based Therapeutics Knight, and is the first implant of its kind. For Dr Seonaid Nolan, a researcher at the Center on Substance Use of British Columbia and an addiction physician at St. Paul’s Hospital in Vancouver, Canada, this is a viable alternative for people with drug addiction. prisons or long hospital stays.
Because when they are released, their tolerance to illicit opioids is markedly increased, which increases their risk of overdose. “It is very important to have a number of treatment options because there is no one-size-fits-all solution to reverse the opioid crisis “, she declares to the agency Canadian press.
Towards a reimbursed implant
The Canadian Agency for Drugs and Technologies in Health (CADTH), which reviews all drugs approved by Health Canada, recommends in a press release that drug plans reimburse the cost of the implant to stabilized patients, with a maximum of 8 mg / day of buprenorphine. The president of Knight Therapeutics, Samira Sakhia, assures that its cost should reach 1,495 dollars (1,323 euros), or the equivalent of six months of treatment with Suboxone.
To date, only one patient has received the device in Canada, says Samira Sakhia: “It’s a complicated product because it’s an implant and we try to do everything in our power to make sure the doctors are trained and competent, and we try to make it happen. to a refund, as this will facilitate access “.
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