Buprenorphine Hcl
Brand names: Belbuca, Buprenorphine Hcl
Part of: Opioid addiction treatment
At a glance
- Medicare prescriptions, 2024
- 499,532
- Medicare drug cost
- $154.8M
- Average cost per prescription
- $310
- Clinicians who prescribed it
- 10,957
Where it is prescribed
List the prescribers in any state, county, city or ZIP code →
What it is used for
BELBUCA is indicated for the management of severe and persistent pain that requires an opioid analgesic and that cannot be adequately treated with alternative options, including immediate-release opioids. BELBUCA buccal film contains buprenorphine, a partial opioid agonist.
From the FDA-approved prescribing information (label dated January 2026). Full labels on DailyMed (opens in a new tab)
Boxed warning
WARNING: SERIOUS AND LIFE-THREATENING RISKS FROM USE OF BELBUCA WARNING: SERIOUS LIFE-THREATENING RISKS FROM USE OF BELBUCA See full prescribing information for complete boxed warning. BELBUCA exposes users to risks of addiction, abuse, and misuse, which can lead to overdose and death. Assess patient's risk before prescribing and reassess regularly for these behaviors and conditions. Serious, life-threatening, or fatal respiratory depression may occur, especially during initiation or following a dosage increase. To reduce the risk of respiratory depression, proper dosing and titration of BELBUCA are essential. Instruct patients on proper administration of BELBUCA to reduce the risk. Accidental exposure to BELBUCA, especially in children, can result in fatal overdose of buprenorphine. Concomitant use of opioids with benzodiazepines or other central nervous system (CNS) depressants,…
The FDA’s strongest warning on a label. It doesn’t mean the drug is unsafe for most people; talk to your doctor or pharmacist before stopping or changing any medicine.
Who prescribes it
- Nurse Practitioners 25.6%
- Pain Medicine 21.1%
- Physician Assistants 14.6%
- Family Medicine 11.0%
- Internal Medicine 5.6%
- Addiction Medicine 3.9%
- Psychiatry 3.6%
- Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation (PM&R) 3.0%
- Anesthesiology 2.9%
- Psychiatric Nurse Practitioners 2.3%
- Emergency Medicine 1.1%
- General Practice 1.1%
All prescribers, by place, name or specialty →
Share of Medicare prescriptions written by each specialty. Select one to list its prescribers.
Trend, 2019–2024
Medicare prescriptions rose 68% from 2019 to 2024.
Biggest change by state since 2019
- Alabama +104%
- South Carolina +103%
- Washington +92%
- Utah +84%
- California +81%
- Ohio (smallest change) +13%
- Tennessee (smallest change) +13%
From CMS’s yearly state and national Part D summaries, which count every prescriber, including those CMS leaves out of its per-clinician data (fewer than 11 prescriptions). That is why these totals are higher than the count at the top of this page. Prescriptions include refills.
What it looks like
Pills from 4 makers on file. The same medicine can look different depending on who made it, so check the imprint (the letters and numbers on the pill) with your pharmacist if a refill looks different.
Biodelivery Sciences International Inc
| Strength | Looks like | Imprint |
|---|---|---|
| 75 ug | yellow rectangle film, 12 mm | E0 |
| 150 ug | yellow rectangle film, 24 mm | E1 |
| 300 ug | yellow rectangle film, 9 mm | E3 |
| 450 ug | yellow rectangle film, 14 mm | E4 |
| 600 ug | yellow rectangle film, 19 mm | E6 |
| 750 ug | yellow rectangle film, 23 mm | E7 |
| 900 ug | yellow rectangle film, 28 mm | E9 |
Bryant Ranch Prepack
| Strength | Looks like | Imprint |
|---|---|---|
| 2 mg / 0.5 mg naloxone hydrochloride dihydrate | orange round tablet, 6 mm | A 14 |
Remedyrepack Inc.
| Strength | Looks like | Imprint |
|---|---|---|
| 2 mg | white round tablet, 13 mm | 54 775 |
Specgx LLC
| Strength | Looks like | Imprint |
|---|---|---|
| 2 mg | white round tablet, 7 mm | B 2 |
| 8 mg | white round tablet, 10 mm | B 8 |
Source: DailyMed (U.S. National Library of Medicine), from each maker’s FDA drug listing. A few makers are shown, not every one. Never take a pill you can’t identify; ask a pharmacist.
Industry payments about this drug
Drug makers reported $325,766 in payments to clinicians that named this drug in 2025 (meals, speaking, consulting and similar).
- Collegium Pharmaceutical, Inc. $325,766
Source: CMS Open Payments, general payments (not research), program year 2025. A payment is not evidence of wrongdoing. Payments by doctor
Recalls and shortages
Not on the FDA drug shortage list.
1 recall since 2020
- Mar 2021 · Cardinal Health Inc. · Class II
CGMP Deviations: Intermittent exposure to temperature excursion during storage.
Recalls usually affect specific lots from one maker, not every version of a drug. Class I is the most serious; most drug recalls are Class II. FDA recalls (opens in a new tab)
Sources: CMS Medicare Part D Prescribers by Provider and Drug (2024; prescriptions include refills, and CMS hides counts under 11 per prescriber); U.S. Food and Drug Administration, openFDA (drug labels, NDC directory, enforcement reports, drug shortages); CMS Open Payments 2025; ClinicalTrials.gov. General information only, not medical advice; not yet reviewed by our medical reviewer.