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Replies to post #5708 on Titan Pharmaceuticals Inc (TTNP)
The recent Herald-Leader article about the failings of buprenorphine in the treatment of opioid addiction is misguided and incomplete to the point of irresponsibility.
It was particularly misleading to use information of patients' use or abuse of buprenorphine prior to entering a treatment program. This is much less an indictment of the medication and much more a testimonial to the desperation that individuals feel when living with addiction and trying to find a path free.
The article indicated that buprenorphine should not be used in pregnant patients. This is categorically false. Although methadone has been the standard of care for opioid dependent pregnant women, Subutex has been shown to be a safe and effective alternative that may result in a decrease in the incidence and severity of neonatal abstinence syndrome in the infants of mothers on maintenance therapy.
The real issue, as the article mentions, is the prescribing of buprenorphine and the windfall profits being reaped by the providers at the expense of the addict patient. More often than not, the patient is able to have the medication covered by insurance, but the physician refuses to accept the usual and customary payment schedule for service, requiring cash at the time of service.
And finally, our ultimate goal is to preserve life. We read of heroin deaths every day. One is hard-pressed to identify a single patient who died of a buprenorphine overdose.
AI
