Buprenorphine pharmacokinetics: Relative bioavailability of sublingual tablet and liquid formulations

Buprenorphine is an effective new treatment for opiate dependence. This stu dy compared the bioavailability of buprenorphine from a tablet to that from a reference solution. Six men experienced with, but not dependent on, opia tes (DSM-III-R) were each administered 7.7 mg of buprenorphine in liquid fo rm and 8 mg in tablet form 1 week apart in a balanced crossover design. pla sma levels were measured by electron capture capillary gas chromatography ( GC), and concentration-time curves were constructed. Pharmacokinetic data w ere analyzed by analysis of variance. The bioavailability from the tablet w as approximately 50% that from the liquid and was not affected by saliva pH . Lower bioavailability from the tablet may be due to slow dissolution. (C) 1999 the American College of Clinical Pharmacology.