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What is buprenorphine, and how does it work?
Buprenorphine is a prescription medicine for opioid use disorder, the medical term for opioid use a person cannot control that harms their health or life. It is a partial opioid agonist: it attaches to the same brain receptors as other opioids, but activates them only partway. That is enough to relieve withdrawal and craving, and not enough to produce the effect that drives continued use in someone who has developed tolerance. It also has a ceiling, so higher amounts do not increase its effect, which makes overdose from buprenorphine alone uncommon. Most products, including Suboxone, add naloxone to discourage misuse.
It comes as a daily film or tablet that dissolves under the tongue, or as a long acting injection that removes the daily decision: Sublocade, monthly, approved in 2017, and Brixadi, weekly or monthly, approved in 2023. Access has widened too. Since January 2023 any clinician with a standard DEA registration can prescribe it, and telehealth prescribing has been extended repeatedly. US overdose deaths fell for a third straight year in 2025, to about 70,000, down from 81,313 in 2024. Yet CDC estimates for 2022 show only about 1 in 4 adults who needed treatment for opioid use disorder received any of the three medications. Closing that gap is what current research is built to do.
For the wider picture, see our opioid use disorder treatment guide and our opioid use disorder studies page.
Types of buprenorphine clinical trials
Long acting formulation studies. Trials comparing monthly or weekly injections with daily forms, testing longer intervals, and studying implants. The question is whether removing the daily dose helps more people stay in treatment over months and years.
Care model studies. Research on where and how treatment starts: in emergency departments, in jails and prisons before release, by telehealth, through pharmacists, or in primary care. These trials test not a new medicine but a better route to the one that exists.
Comparison studies. Head to head trials of buprenorphine against methadone or extended release naltrexone, or of different buprenorphine forms against each other, measuring who stays in treatment and who returns to use.
Studies in specific groups. Pregnant people, adolescents and young adults, people who also use stimulants, people with chronic pain, and people leaving hospital after an overdose each have dedicated research, because standard approaches were mostly tested in other populations.
Fentanyl era studies. The shift to fentanyl changed how treatment begins and how much medicine people need. Trials are testing adjusted starting approaches and whether current regimens are enough for people exposed to high potency opioids.
Observational and registry studies. Following people on medication over years, studying pregnancy outcomes, or collecting data on how treatment works in real practice. No treatment change is involved and eligibility is often broad.
Who can participate in buprenorphine clinical trials?
Most studies enroll adults with a diagnosis of opioid use disorder, either already taking buprenorphine or seeking to start medication. Some require a specific situation: a recent emergency visit, an upcoming release from incarceration, pregnancy, or a certain length of time in treatment. Others focus on people who also have chronic pain or use stimulants. Studies generally exclude people with certain medical conditions or medicines that interact, and pregnancy trials have their own criteria. Because studies use randomization and screening, meeting the basic description does not mean a place is certain; the study team confirms eligibility and explains what each group in the study receives. Participation never replaces your own doctor, and you can leave a study at any time. Eligibility always varies by study.
Is buprenorphine the same as Suboxone?
Suboxone is a brand name for a film containing buprenorphine plus naloxone. Buprenorphine is the active ingredient, and it is also sold under other brand names and as long acting injections (Sublocade and Brixadi). Most trials describe the medicine by its generic name.
Suboxone vs methadone: what is the difference?
Both roughly halve the risk of death while a person stays in treatment. Methadone is a full opioid agonist with no ceiling, dispensed daily at a certified opioid treatment program. Buprenorphine, the medicine in Suboxone, has a ceiling effect and can be prescribed by a regular clinician, taken at home, or given as a monthly injection. Methadone may work better for some people with very high tolerance; buprenorphine is easier to access. Head to head trials comparing them are recruiting.
How to find and enroll in a buprenorphine clinical trial
Identify your study. Use the filters to combine opioid use disorder with buprenorphine. Titles usually say what the study tests: a long acting form, a care setting like "emergency department" or "telehealth," a comparison, or a specific group such as pregnancy or young adults.
Check the setting. Some studies run in clinics and hospitals, others largely by telehealth with local pharmacy pickup. The study details say how visits work and how the medicine is provided during the study.
Complete the health profile. Click "Get started" to begin the 5-step application. Have three things ready: whether you currently take medication for opioid use disorder and which one, any other health conditions and medicines, and whether you have had a recent emergency visit or hospital stay. Your information is protected under research privacy rules.
Submit the application. A study coordinator reviews it and contacts you. Nothing is decided until you have gone through informed consent, and participation is voluntary at every step. Your own doctor or treatment program stays involved, and joining a study does not require leaving them.