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A London, Ont.-based study examining four medications used to treat opioid addiction has found that one appears to offer significant protection against fentanyl overdoses.
The findings from the London Rapid Access Addiction Medicine (RAAM) clinic offer some encouraging news amid the ongoing fentanyl crisis, which began about a decade ago, said Dr. Ken Lee, the clinic’s medical director.
“It’s very gratifying to see this, and we’re very happy to spread the word,” Lee told CBC News.
Researchers analysed data from more than 45,000 Ontarians who experienced one or more opioid-related overdoses between 2022 and the end of 2024. Among those receiving opioid-replacement therapy, almost 10 per cent experienced a non-fatal overdose, while just under two per cent died.
But people taking Sublocade, one of four medications examined, were the least likely to experience an overdose. In fact, fewer than five people taking the medication died or experienced an overdose during the two-year study period, according to Lee’s analysis.
Of the 770 overdose deaths, 58 people died while on methadone, 37 while on Suboxone and 18 on Kadian, the research showed. Of those who weren’t on any of opioid-replacement medication, 640 died of an overdose.
“Sublocade is more effective than the older treatments…in controlling the cravings to use fentanyl, and in helping the withdrawal symptoms,” Lee said. “As a secondary benefit, we noticed that people who were on Sublocade were no longer overdosing on fentanyl.”
Methadone, Suboxone, Kadian and Sublocade work by binding to the same opioid receptors in the brain as heroin or fentanyl, preventing the withdrawal symptoms and cravings but not getting the user high. The older meds are taken orally once a day at a pharmacy.
Monthly injection
Sublocade is administered as a monthly injection, meaning patients can visit a clinic once a month rather than having to take medication daily, Lee said.
“And if you do happen to relapse, the Sublocade offers you the secondary protection so you don’t overdose for the whole month. With the older treatments, you don’t get that secondary protection.”
Lee cautioned that Sublocade does not protect against overdoses involving other drugs.
But the roughly 1,000 patients he’s treated with Sublocade have reported “great satisfaction” with the medication and its monthly injections, he said.
Lee has presented his findings at conferences in San Diego and Portland and will formally present the analysis at the Canadian Society of Addiction Medicine conference next week.
“This is the first good news we’ve had in years,” Lee said, pointing to declining overdose rates in Canada.
“The study shows that there is no other option that gives almost complete protection from fentanyl overdoses and overdose deaths.”