Subutex contains buprenorphine, an opioid analgesic that sits within the broader category of nervous system drugs in international pharmaceutical references. The brand is registered in 23 countries, with a footprint that concentrates heavily across Europe and extends into Australia, Indonesia, and Israel — reflecting the way opioid-dependence treatment programmes have been organised in those healthcare systems.
Subutex is prescribed in the management of opioid drug addiction, as part of structured treatment pathways overseen by clinicians with specific training in addiction medicine. Because of how this therapeutic area is regulated, prescribing, dispensing, and supervision rules vary considerably between countries, even where the same active ingredient is available. The structured indication block further down this page lists the registered uses recognised by national regulators in the markets where Subutex is sold.
For travellers, expatriates, and people relocating mid-treatment, the practical point is that buprenorphine itself is widely available under various brand names internationally — sometimes as a single-ingredient product like Subutex, sometimes in fixed-dose combinations used in addiction treatment. Markets where Subutex is registered include France, Germany, Australia, Italy, Indonesia, and Ireland, but the local brand encountered abroad may not be the same one. Continuity of care in this therapeutic area is rarely a matter of swapping brands at a pharmacy counter; it is typically arranged in advance through a specialist clinician.
Other medications in the opioid-analgesic class also exist worldwide, although they fill very different clinical roles and are not interchangeable in addiction-medicine settings without specialist guidance. Anyone currently prescribed Subutex, or considering it, should make any decision about starting, continuing, switching, or pausing treatment together with a healthcare provider familiar with their full clinical history.
2 years
None known
Monohydrated lactose
Mannitol
Maize starch
Povidone excipient K30
Citric acid
Sodium citrate
Magnesium stearate
Acute toxicity of buprenorphine was determined in the mouse and rat following oral and parenteral administration. The median lethal doses (LD50) in the mouse were 26, 94 and 261 mg/kg for intravenous, intraperitoneal and oral administration, respectively. The LD50 values in a rat were 35, 243 and 600 mg/kg for intravenous, intraperitoneal and oral administration, respectively.
When beagles were dosed continuously subcutaneously for one month, rhesus monkeys orally for one month and rats and baboons intramuscularly for six months, buprenorphine showed remarkably low tissue and biochemical toxicities.
From teratology studies in rats and rabbits, it was concluded that buprenorphine is not embryotoxic or teratogenic, and it does not have any marked effects on weaning potential. There were no adverse effects of fertility of general reproductive function in rats, although at the highest intramuscular dose (5mg/kg/day) the mothers experienced some difficulty in parturition and there was a high neonatal mortality.
Minimal to moderate hyperplasia of the bile duct with associated peribiliary fibrosis occurred in dogs following 52 weeks of oral dosing of 75mg/kg/day.
Pharmacodynamic group
Drugs used in opioid dependence ATC-code: N07BC01
Mechanism of action
Buprenorphine is an opioid partial agonist/antagonist which attaches itself to the µ (mu) k (kappa) receptors of the brain. Its activity in opioid maintenance treatment is attributed to its slowly reversible link with the µ receptors which, over a prolonged period, minimises the need of the opioid-dependent patient.
Clinical efficacy and safety
During clinical pharmacologic studies in opiate-dependent subjects, buprenorphine demonstrated a ceiling effect on a number of parameters, including positive mood, “good effect†and respiratory depression.
Absorption
When taken orally, buprenorphine undergoes first-pass hepatic metabolism with N-dealkylation and glucuroconjungation in the small intestine. The use of this medication by oral route is therefore inappropriate.
Peak plasma concentrations are achieved 90 minutes after sublingual administration and the maximal dose - concentration relationship is linear, between 2 mg and 16 mg.
Distribution
The absorption of buprenorphine is followed by a rapid distribution phase and a half - life of 2 to 5 hours.
Biotransformation and elimination
Buprenorphine is oxidatively metabolised by 14-N-dealkylation to N-desalkyl-buprenorphine (also known as norbuprenorphine) via cytochrome P450 CYP3A4 and by glucuroconjungation of the parent molecule and the dealkylated metabolite. Norbuprenorphine is µ (mu) agonist with weak intrinsic activity.
Elimination of buprenorphine is bi- or tri- exponential, with long terminal elimination phase of 20-25 hours, due in part to reabsorption of buprenorphine after intestinal hydrolysis of the conjugated derivative, and in part to the highly lipophilic nature of the molecule.
Buprenorphine is essentially eliminated in the faeces by biliary excretion of the glucuroconjugated metabolites (70%), the rest being eliminated in the urine.
Hepatic Impairment
The effect of hepatic impairment on the pharmacokinetics of buprenorphine and naloxone were evaluated in a postmarketing study.
Table 2 summarizes the results from a clinical trial in which the exposure of buprenorphine was determined after administering a Suboxone 2.0/0.5mg (buprenorphine/naloxone) sublingual tablet in healthy subjects, and in subjects with varied degrees of hepatic impairment.
| Table 2. Effect of hepatic impairment on pharmacokinetic parameters of buprenorphine following buprenorphine/naloxone administration (change relative to healthy subjects) | |||
| PK Parameter | Mild Hepatic Impairment (Child-Pugh Class A) (n=9) | Moderate Hepatic Impairment (Child-Pugh Class B) (n=8) | Severe Hepatic Impairment (Child-Pugh Class C) (n=8) |
| Buprenorphine | |||
| Cmax | 1.2-fold increase | 1.1-fold Increase | 1.7-fold increase |
| AUClast | Similar to control | 1.6-fold increase | 2.8-fold increase |
Overall, buprenorphine plasma exposure increased approximately 3-fold in patients with severely impaired hepatic function.
29 April 2016
Indivior UK Limited
103 - 105 Bath Road, Slough, Berkshire
SL1 3UH
UK
Do not store above 30°C. Store in the original package.
7 or 28 tablets in nylon/aluminium/uPVC blister packs
| Subutex 0.4mg, sublingual tablets: | PL 36699/0001 |
Not applicable
February 1998 (UK)
Subutex is prescribed in the management of opioid drug addiction, as part of structured treatment programmes overseen by clinicians experienced in addiction medicine. It is classified within the opioid analgesic category and falls under nervous system drugs in international regulatory listings. The structured indication section further down this page details the registered uses recognised by national regulators in the markets where Subutex is sold.
The active ingredient in Subutex is buprenorphine, classified as an opioid analgesic and listed among other nervous system drugs in international references. Buprenorphine is the same molecule whether sold under the Subutex brand or under other commercial names, and it circulates in many markets under various brand names — both as a single-ingredient product and in combination preparations used in addiction treatment.
Subutex is registered in 23 countries, with a footprint concentrated across Europe and extending to Australia, Indonesia, and Israel. Representative markets include France, Germany, Italy, Denmark, Australia, Indonesia, and Ireland. If your country is not on this list, a local pharmacist or addiction-medicine clinician can confirm whether buprenorphine is available locally under a different brand or as part of a combination product.
Buprenorphine is sold internationally under several brand names, both as a single-ingredient product and in fixed-dose combinations used specifically in opioid-dependence treatment. Other medications within the broader opioid analgesic class also exist, although they are not interchangeable in addiction-medicine settings without specialist guidance. To identify a local buprenorphine-containing product, search the active ingredient on Pill2Trip or speak to a clinician familiar with addiction services in your country.
Yes. Subutex is a prescription medication used within supervised opioid-dependence treatment programmes, and access is tightly regulated in every country where it is registered — typically through specialist clinicians or designated prescribers rather than general retail. Travellers and people relocating between countries should plan ahead with their treating clinician, since prescribing rules, dispensing pathways, and available formulations differ significantly between regulatory regimes.
