A new dosage strength of buprenorphine and naloxone sublingual film was approved recently by the Food and Drug Administration.

Cassipa sublingual film, made by Teva Pharmaceuticals, is a 16 mg/4 mg dosage of buprenorphine and naloxone for the maintenance treatment of opioid dependence. Buprenorphine and naloxone sublingual film also is approved in both brand name and generic versions and in various strengths, the FDA said in a press release.

Cassipa should be used as part of a complete treatment plan that includes counseling and psychosocial support and should be used only after patient induction and stabilization up to a dose of 16 mg of buprenorphine using another marketed product. These products may only be prescribed by Drug Addiction Treatment Act (DATA)–certified prescribers.

Cassipa was approved through the abbreviated 505(b)(2) approval pathway and its application 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, according to the FDA.

Adverse events commonly observed with the buprenorphine and naloxone sublingual film are oral hypoesthesia, glossodynia, oral mucosal erythema, headache, nausea, vomiting, hyperhidrosis, constipation, signs and symptoms of withdrawal, insomnia, pain, and peripheral edema.