The Impact of Suboxone's Market Exclusivity on Cost of Opioid Use Disorder Treatment.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Buprenorphine-naloxone is an essential part of the response to opioid poisoning rates in North America. Manipulating market exclusivity is a strategy manufacturers use to increase profitability, as evidenced by Suboxone in the USA.

Objective

To investigate excess costs of buprenorphine-naloxone due to unmerited market exclusivity (no legal patent or data protection) in Canada.

Methods

Using controlled interrupted time-series, this study examined changes in the cost of buprenorphine-naloxone before and after the first generics were listed on public formularies. Methadone cost was the control. Public data from the Canadian Institute of Health Information in British Columbia, Manitoba, and Saskatchewan were used. All buprenorphine-naloxone and methadone claims

SUBMITTER: McGee M 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10119248 | biostudies-literature | 2023 May

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature