The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has approved a new drug to treat opioid addiction, according to Reuters. The drug, Zubsolv, is made by Swedish pharmaceutical company Orexo. According to the company, it is preferable to Suboxone because it uses less drug for the same effect. Zubsolv dissolves under the patient’s tongue and has a menthol flavor that patients preferred.
This year, the FDA approved generic versions of Suboxone and rejected a drug that is similar to Zubsolv but is implanted under the patient’s skin. Opioid addiction treatments Subuxone and Subutex generated $1.3 billion in sales in 2012, and Orexo said it expected to generate at least $500 million in peak sales of Zubsolv. The drug is expected to launch in the United States this September.
Source: Reuters – U.S. FDA approves Orexo drug to treat opioid addiction
