A major pharmaceutical company is taking a medication called Sublocade off the Australian market by the end of 2026. Sublocade is an injection that helps people with opioid addiction. Patients receive it once a month instead of taking daily pills. The Australian government has been helping to pay for it, but the company that makes it — Indivior, based in the UK — says it can no longer afford to keep selling it here.

Why Is This Drug Important?

Opioid addiction is treated with medications that replace the illegal drug and stop cravings. The most common ones are pills or films you take every day at home, or at a clinic. The problem is that people often forget to take daily doses, or they share the medication with others. Sublocade solved this by being a simple monthly injection. You go to the clinic or pharmacy once a month, get the injection, and you're covered for the rest of the month. It's harder to forget, and it can't be traded away to someone else.

For patients who struggle with daily routine or who live far from treatment services, this once-monthly approach was a game-changer.

Why Is Indivior Pulling Out?

Indivior has had financial troubles for years. The company faced lawsuits and lost money as competitors made cheaper versions of its main product. In 2020, it announced it was cutting costs by eliminating jobs and restructuring how it operated. More recently, its finance chief left the company, signalling more internal turmoil.

Sublocade was supposed to be Indivior's future — the drug that would make up for losses in other parts of the business. The company hoped it could become a blockbuster product in Australia, Canada, and Europe. But in Australia, it didn't sell well enough to be worth the effort and cost. The Australian government's subsidy for the drug wasn't enough to change that calculation. So Indivior decided to stop.

What Happens to Patients Now?

People currently using Sublocade will have to switch to a different medication. They can go back to daily pills or films of buprenorphine, or they can use methadone — another common addiction medication. There's also Buvidal, another monthly injection that's available in Australia. But switching medications always carries some risk, and doctors and patients will need to work together carefully to make the transition as smooth as possible.

The bigger concern is for addiction services across Australia. They now know that even when a medication is government-funded, the company selling it can still pull out if the money isn't good enough for them. That's something addiction services need to plan for in the future.