US pharmaceutical company Indivior has confirmed that the marketing and sale of the long-acting injectable prescription opioid Sublocade will end in Australia from 31 December, a move described by a company spokesperson as a “commercial decision”. The drug, heavily subsidised for Australians living with opioid dependency, has been called “life-saving” by clinicians.
Background of the Withdrawal
This announcement comes less than a month after AstraZeneca said it would remove the breast cancer and endometriosis medicine Zoladex from the pharmaceutical benefits scheme (PBS) and private market, also citing a lack of commercial viability. The federal health minister, Mark Butler, noted last month that drugs pricing was in an enormous state of flux amid US policy changes.
Indivior intends to work with appropriate authorities and experts in Australia to ensure an orderly transition that minimises disruption, according to the spokesperson.
Impact on Patients and Clinicians
Sublocade was added to the PBS in 2020 and was considered a significant advance in treatment for people living with opioid dependency because other treatments, such as methadone and buprenorphine, require daily or frequent visits to a pharmacy. Sublocade is a long-acting, monthly injection administered at a pharmacy or GP clinic.
Melbourne GP Dr Owen Harris said, “In my experience, and in the experience of many others, the Sublocade product is just much better for some people. It’s more stable, it lasts longer, people feel better on it, and it really has been life-changing for them. Some people can stretch their dose out to once every six weeks, or even longer. It, quite honestly, has been life-saving and life-changing for many of my patients.”
A federal health department spokesperson said, “Any proposed discontinuation of a medicine can cause concern for patients and clinicians. Maintaining access to safe, effective and affordable medicines remains a priority. These are commercial decisions made by private companies, and the Australian government cannot compel a company to continue supply.”
Broader Implications for Pharmaceutical Market
Butler said last month that policies such as the US “most favoured nations” approach “are reshaping how companies think about pricing”. Part of the argument for the policy is that the US should pay the same price as “reference countries”, with Donald Trump arguing that pharmaceutical companies have been discounting drugs to get into foreign markets such as Australia, and subsidising those cheaper medicines by charging more in the US. Critics of the US policy say pharmaceutical companies will not compromise their profits in the US, and will either raise their prices in smaller markets so the US has to pay the same, or pull out of those smaller markets altogether if higher prices are not agreed to by governments.
An adjunct professor at the University of Sydney’s pharmacy school, Brendan Shaw, said pharmaceutical companies were increasingly examining the impact on global markets when they agreed to supply cheaper medicines to Australia under the PBS. “What the US position has done is draw these debates out into the light, and companies are scrambling, frankly. It sort of caused chaos across the industry and the health sector worldwide as the companies all readjust to this.” Shaw, a former chief executive of Medicines Australia, said he suspected more drugs might be pulled from the Australian market because of “pressures that are building internationally”.
Social Harms of Opioid Dependence
Dependence on opioids such as codeine, oxycodone and heroin is associated with a range of health and social harms, with medications like Buvidal and Sublocade helping people to manage the effects of dependence. On a snapshot day in 2025, 57,740 Australians were receiving some form of pharmacotherapy treatment for opioid dependence, according to the latest data from the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare.
In 2020, pharmacist Angelo Pricolo became the first person in Australia to administer someone with Buvidal. He described it and Sublocade, which both contain the active ingredient buprenorphine, as particularly important for those living in remote areas. He said there are “significant differences” between Sublocade and Buvidal “that mean some patients respond better to one over the other”. “We sometimes see those requiring higher doses do better with Sublocade and also the duration of action importantly can be different. Choice for the patient and healthcare provider is very important and can be the factor that determines engagement in treatment or indeed a return to drug use. But it is not just choice that is the issue here. If we only have one drug and for some unforeseeable reason it cannot be accessed, then that is a huge issue. The addiction treatment space is a delicate ecosystem with an already vulnerable cohort now seemingly dealt another unfair result.”
