What is Suboxone?
Suboxone (buprenorphine/naloxone) is a brand-name prescription drug. It’s used to treat dependence on opioid drugs.
Suboxone comes as an oral film that’s placed under your tongue (sublingual) or between your gums and cheek (buccal). The film dissolves in your mouth.
Suboxone contains two drugs in each film: buprenorphine and naloxone. It’s available in four strengths:
- 2 mg buprenorphine / 0.5 mg naloxone
- 4 mg buprenorphine / 1 mg naloxone
- 8 mg buprenorphine / 2 mg naloxone
- 12 mg buprenorphine / 3 mg naloxone
What’s the Difference between Subutex and Suboxone?
Both Subutex and Suboxone contain buprenorphine. While both drugs were developed at around the same time, Subutex was formulated first. While it was found to be relatively effective in the treatment of opiate addiction, there was still a tendency to abuse the drug. Many users sought to inject the drug intravenously in order to obtain the high they had become accustomed to with heroin or prescription painkillers. They often succeeded in doing so, giving rise to the need to develop another drug to address this issue: Suboxone.