Efficacy of Monthly Buprenorphine Injections for Opioid Use Disorders

Opioid use disorder is a chronic, relapsing disease and a global health burden. Treatment for OUD tends to involve a combination of medication and behavioural intervention. It is recognised that buprenorphine can alleviate opioid withdrawal, reduce craving, and can block the subjective effects.

A recent study, published in the Lancet, has examined the efficacy of long-acting buprenorphine formulation BUP-XR. BUP-XR is designed to provide continuous exposure of buprenorphine over an entire monthly dosing interval, which relieves the requirement for daily medication adherence and the risks associated with take-home medication. 

Results from the randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial found that:

• Over 60% of participants in the BUP-XR groups completed the study compared to just 34% of participants in the placebo group.
• Abstinence rates in the 2 BUP-XR groups were 41·3% and 42·7% compared to 5% in the placebo group.
• Some reported adverse effects included headaches, constipation, nausea and injection site reaction.

Overall the study shows that abstinence was significantly higher within the BUP-XR groups than placebo indicating the potential of BUP-XR to be used within treatment for opioid use disorder.