Buprenorphine: where the agencies disagree
This page collects every recorded health technology assessment decision for one molecule across the agencies in our archive, and compares them. The comparison is the point: each agency publishes its own verdict, none publishes how that verdict sits against the others.
What the record shows
HAS (France), SMC (Scotland) and TLV (Sweden) recommended or restricted buprenorphine, while CIPM (Spain) did not recommend it.
The file has been open for more than a decade: 17 years separate the first record, 25 Jun 2008 at HAS (France), from the most recent, 19 Jun 2025 at CIPM (Spain).
PHARMAC (New Zealand) changed its position: not recommended on 8 Nov 2012, recommended by 6 Dec 2021, after a resubmission.
No assessment is on file from G-BA (Germany), which is among the eight highest-volume agencies here.
Not every gap is a refusal: for buprenorphine, 1 was withdrawn or terminated before a decision — an outcome set by the company rather than the assessor.
The file is active: 2 of 36 records date from 2023 or later.
The programme is broad: 11 distinct indication wordings are recorded for buprenorphine by the agencies that label one in English (AWMSG, PBAC and SMC).
11 of these 36 records carry a year of decision but no day, so any interval quoted here is approximate to within a year.
HAS (France) was first to assess buprenorphine, on 25 Jun 2008; CIPM (Spain) did not open a file until 28 Oct 2021 — an unusually long tail of 13.3 years between the earliest and latest system to look at it.
The record arrives in waves: 8 separate years each carry two or more decisions, spread across 14 years in total.
5 of the 7 agencies here assessed buprenorphine more than once, HAS (France) most often at 13 entries — repeat review is the norm for this molecule rather than the exception.
7 of the 18 agencies in this archive hold a record for buprenorphine.
The full ledger for buprenorphine reads 18 recommended, 6 not recommended, 5 other and 2 restricted, with 5 in other categories.
Decisions on file
| Agency | Date | Indication as recorded | Outcome | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| CIPM (Spain) | 19 Jun 2025 | Indicación terapéutica autorizada y financiada: Tratamiento de sustitución de la dependencia de opioides, en el marco de… | excluded from SNS provision · art. 92 e | source |
| HAS (France) | 22 Feb 2023 | Listing (Transparency Committee) | SMR substantial · ASMR V | source |
| AWMSG (Wales) | 23 Feb 2022 | Substitution treatment for opioid dependence in clinically stable adult patients who require no more than 8 mg/day of su… | not recommended (full) | source |
| PHARMAC (New Zealand) | 6 Dec 2021 | Opioid dependence, maintenance treatment | PTAC advice: High | source |
| PBAC (Australia) | 2019 | Opiate dependence | The PBAC deferred making a recommendation on the Section 100 (Opiate Dependence Treatment … | source |
31 further decisions for buprenorphine, across 7 agencies, are not shown here. They link to 17 further source documents.
Related molecules
- nicotine — same ATC class N07B — Other nervous system
- buprenorphine / naloxone — same ATC class N07B — Other nervous system
- varenicline — same ATC class N07B — Other nervous system
- nalmefene — same ATC class N07B — Other nervous system
- naltrexone — same ATC class N07B — Other nervous system
- isavuconazole — also decided by CIPM in 2025Q2
Coverage: 36 decisions for buprenorphine from 7 agencies, 2008 to 2025. Data to 7 Sep 2026. ATC class N07B — Other nervous system. How this page is produced. Compiled by Altima Partners; queries: sales@altimapartners.co.uk.