Selected items from the News and Latest Additions sections of www.palliativedrugs.com, the world’s leading palliative care website.

Drug updates

Suboxone SL tablets replaced by SL film in US

Sublingual (SL) combination tablets containing buprenorphine and naloxone (Suboxone^®; Reckitt Benckiser, Warren, NJ, USA), are being replaced by a sublingual film in the US. The tablet formulation, authorized for maintenance treatment in opioid dependence, is now off-patent and available as a generic product. The manufacturer states that the sublingual film has a faster dissolving rate, a more favourable taste and improved child-safety packaging. For the SPC click here.

Pecfent in use expiry extended to 60 days

The UK SPC for Pecfent (fentanyl citrate) nasal spray 100microgram/spray and 400microgram/spray has been updated. The in-use expiry of the product has been extended from 14 days to 60 days i.e. the SPC now reads:

“If the product has not been used for 5 days, re-prime by spraying once. Discard bottle 60 days after first opening.”

Prepared by Sarah Charlesworth and Andrew Wilcock