t the Opioid Crisis. Last month, the FDA issued draft guidance outlining new ways for drug developers to consider measuring and demonstrating the effectiveness and benefits of new or existing MAT products, building on another draft guidance issued in April outlining the agency’s current thinking about drug development and trial design issues relevant to the study of depot buprenorphine products (i.e., modified-release products for injection or implantation). In June, the agency also approved the first generic versions of Suboxone (buprenorphine and naloxone) sublingual film in multiple strengths.
Cassipa was approved through an abbreviated approval pathway under the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act, called the 505(b)(2) pathway. A new drug application submitted through this pathway may rely on the FDA’s finding that a previously approved drug is safe and effective or on published literature to support the safety and/or effectiveness of the proposed product, if such reliance is scientifically justified. In the case of Cassipa, the manufacturer submitted a 505(b)(2) application that relied, in part, on the FDA’s finding of safety and effectiveness for Suboxone sublingual film to support approval. The applicant demonstrated that reliance on the FDA’s finding of safety and effectiveness for Suboxone was scientifically justified and provided Cassipa-specific pharmacokinetic data to establish the drug’s safety and efficacy for its approved uses.
Cassipa should be used as part of a complete treatment plan that includes counseling and psychosocial support and should only be used after patient induction and stabilization up to a dose of 16 milligrams of buprenorphine using another marketed product. Adverse events commonly observed with the buprenorphine and naloxone sublingual film are oral hypoesthesia (numbness), glossodynia (burning mouth), oral mucosal erythema (inflammation of oral mucous membrane), headache, nausea, vomiting, hyperhidrosis (excessive sweating), constipation, signs and symptoms of withdrawal, insomnia, pain and peripheral edema (accumulation of fluid causing swelling in lower limbs). These products may only be prescribed by Drug Addiction Treatment Act (DATA)-certified prescribers.
https://www.accessdata.fda.gov/drugsatfda_docs/label/2018/208042s000lbl.pdf
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