Expert: Dr.Paul Skett - 7/27/2007

Question
Why is buprenorphine less addictive than other opioids (like fentanyl) - is it explainable by its strength of binding to the common receptor, or?

Answer
Hi, Miguel,

Thanks for your question.

Buprenorphine is what is referred to as a partial agonist - i.e. it binds to the receptor but even at its maximum cannot give as much of an effect as a full agonist (such as morphine) - it is, thus, also a partial antagonist (partially inhibits the actions of full agonists).

As addiction is likely to be linked to strength of the effect of the drug, buprenorphine has less effect and, therefore, less addiction.

It is not quite this simple as addiction (as opposed to dependence) is more complex involving memory functions as well.

Hope this helps.

Paul