Suboxone maker sued by U.S. states alleging anticompetitive practices

• ‘Outdated’ restriction on Suboxone lifted to help B.C.’s overdose crisis

A tablet version of the drug was first approved for sale in the United States in 2002, and although it did not have patent protection, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration gave the company seven-year “orphan drug” treatment so it could recover research and development costs.

According to the lawsuit by the states, Indivior told the FDA that it planned to offer a new “sublingual film,” or dissolvable strip version of the drug, which had been licensed to Indivior by MonoSol Rx.