Composition Details
Suboxone is a combination medication containing two active ingredients in a fixed 4:1 ratio 2, 3, 4:
- Buprenorphine (partial mu-opioid receptor agonist)
- Naloxone (opioid antagonist)
The specific formulations include 2:
- 2 mg buprenorphine with 0.5 mg naloxone
- 8 mg buprenorphine with 2 mg naloxone
Clinical Context
The naloxone component serves a specific purpose: when taken sublingually as prescribed, naloxone is poorly absorbed and exerts no clinically significant effect, allowing buprenorphine's therapeutic effects to predominate 1. However, if the medication is crushed and injected (misused), the naloxone becomes active and precipitates withdrawal symptoms in opioid-dependent individuals, thereby reducing abuse potential 1, 3, 4.
Because of this safety feature, buprenorphine/naloxone is the preferred formulation over buprenorphine monotherapy (Subutex) for treating opioid use disorder 1.
Alternative Brand Names
Other brand names for buprenorphine/naloxone combination products include 5, 6:
- Bunavail®
- Zubsolv®
- Cassipa®
These formulations differ in delivery method (film vs tablet) and bioavailability but contain the same generic active ingredients: buprenorphine and naloxone.