Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the availability and price of the opiate treatment medication buprenorphine; whether there is a shortage of buprenorphine; if so, what analysis they have made of the reasons of such a shortage; and whether there are mechanisms in place to monitor the long-term supply of the medication following the recent rise in deaths associated with opioid abuse.

We are aware that there was a short-term supply issue which may have affected availability in May 2018. This was because one of the main generic suppliers experienced delays in delivery, resulting in a short-term out of stock period. Although supplies continued to remain available from other suppliers, we are aware that some may have struggled to support the increase in demand at short notice. The delivery issues were resolved quickly and the overall supply of buprenorphine tablets improved shortly afterwards. The Department has not been made aware of patients who were unable to access supplies of buprenorphine during this period.

Since this period, the Department has remained in regular contact with all United Kingdom licensed suppliers of buprenorphine and has been working closely with them to monitor their supply position. Based on these conversations, we have been assured that the available supplies are sufficient to meet the usual UK requirements for this drug. The Department continues to monitor this very closely.

As there have been no long-term shortages of buprenorphine tablets, no such assessment has been undertaken on the impact of this scenario on individuals and substance misuse treatment providers. The Department is aware that since the short-term supply issue affecting buprenorphine, the market price has increased. This increased purchase price is reflected in the reimbursement price paid to pharmacies, to ensure that supplies remain available to patients.