Induction of Opioid-Dependent Individuals Onto Buprenorphine and Buprenorphine/Naloxone

Buprenorphine sublingual and buccal soluble films are being developed to be used for the same indication and over the same buprenorphine dose range as Subutex and Suboxone sublingual tablets in the treatment of opioid dependence. However, only films administered by the sublingual route were evaluated in this study. The soluble film dosage is expected to provide the following enhancements and potential advantages over the current Subutex and Suboxone product: * Mitigation against unintentional pediatric exposure by providing child-resistant packaging in unit dose format. * Improvement in subject convenience and compliance by ensuring rapid disintegration. * Protection against diversion by providing a dosage form that is very difficult for the subject to remove from the sublingual or buccal mucosa after administration. This provides assurance to the caregiver that the dose has actually been taken appropriately in a supervised setting. * Provision of a unit dose product format for hospital and institutional use. * Decreased product damage during shipping as compared to Subutex and Suboxone tablets.