Suboxone tablets

According to the American Association of Poison Control Centers (AAPCC) today Reckitt-Benckiser has decided to withdraw suboxone tablets from the market.  Suboxone is a drug used to treat opiate dependence.  It has a fascinating effectiveness profile that you will hear about in class next week.  Withdrawal of the drug was based partially on AAPCC data.  AAPCC has data from all US poison centers and includes every exposure called into a center.  Reckitt-Benckiser reviewed that data and had concerns over the number of poor outcomes following pediatric exposures to suboxone tablets. 

The AAPCC stated that, "Our analysis of the combined data sets indicated that the rate of unintentional exposure for young children is several times higher for Suboxone tablets compared to Suboxone oral film.  This effect persisted when the availability of the drug was considered.   Based on the data, RBP decided to withdraw their Suboxone tablet product from the market. We were not involved in that decision and did not know about the press release until we saw the news stories that quoted the press release."

Fascinating!  Here is an example of post-marketing surveillance and a decision based partially on a source of safety/toxicity data. 

Every call into a poison center makes a difference.   It makes a difference for the patient and in this case makes a difference for public health.