Sublocade® 300mg shortage update – March 2022
“Unconstrained supplies of US-branded Sublocade® 300mg available for deliveries from week commencing 21st March.”
Sublocade® manufacturer, Indivior, has advised positive changes to the issues with supply of Sublocade 300mg strength under S19A conditions. Please refer to the official advice from Indivior, available here. Particular attention should be paid to the reduced out-of-refrigeration shelf life of the US-branded version compared to the Australian registered version (7 days cf. 28 days).
Support and advice on managing patients during this shortage is available from the manufacturer, Indivior, as well as via your local PABN, including specialist clinical support, where available.
Find your local PABN contact here.
Contact Indivior via telephone 02 9025 0200 or email medinfoau@indivior.com.
COVID-19
The Pharmacotherapy Area-Based Networks have worked closely with the Victorian Department of Health and Human Services, key stakeholders and providers to develop a series of guides for responding to the challenges of providing pharmacotherapy services during the COVID-19 pandemic. Find an overview with links to the guides on our new, dedicated COVID-19 page.
The Pharmacotherapy Area-Based Networks
The Pharmacotherapy Area-Based Networks (PABN) are a Victorian Government initiative to provide opioid pharmacotherapy support for primary care medical practitioners and pharmacists across the state of Victoria including metropolitan, regional and rural areas.
Each PABN provides connections between primary health care, hospitals and Alcohol and Other Drug (AOD) services to create a more cohesive and strengthened pharmacotherapy service system.
What is pharmacotherapy?
Pharmacotherapy is Medication Assisted Treatment of Opioid Dependence (MATOD). It includes treatments such as methadone and buprenorphine (Subutex®, Suboxone®). Pharmacotherapy is also known as Opioid Replacement Therapy (ORT), and Opioid Substitution Therapy (OST). In Victoria, most pharmacotherapy is provided via a community model, mainly via General Practitioner (GP) and pharmacist service providers. Additional services may be provided by nurse practitioners, community health organisations and specialist nurses and AOD workers.
Your local PABN provides local support
There are two metropolitan and three regional PABNs. Each PABN is structured to meet local need and includes highly qualified management and specialist teams such as GPs, Addiction Medicine Specialists (AMS), Clinical and AOD nurses, and pharmacists. These teams recognise the diverse needs of practitioners and patients, and provide innovative and flexible approaches to meeting local needs.
See our About page to find the contact details for your local PABN.
Victorian Opioid Management Extension for Community Healthcare Outcomes (ECHO) is a PABN program providing specialist no-cost opioid education for all Victorian health practitioners.
Changing Lanes is a series of four short videos made for and by people who are considering or are already on methadone or buprenorphine in Victoria. They are also a useful tool for health practitioners providing services to people seeking treatment for opioid dependence.
Find the videos here
Victorian Pharmacotherapy Area-based Networks
A Program of the Victoria State Government.
