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# HHS, Purdue Differ on Buprenorphine
- URL: https://www.fdaweb.com/hhs-purdue-differ-on-buprenorphine/
- Published: 2021-10-28T12:00:00.000Z
- Updated: 2026-09-14T17:20:44.000Z
- Author: David McFarland
- Tags: Drugs, #legacy-id-D5150467

In a sweeping HHS announcement of the Biden administration’s strategy for curbing drug overdoses, secretary **Xavier Becerra** said one element in the plan is to expand the number of doctors who can prescribe buprenorphine to treat addiction, bypassing rules requiring hours of training for the physicians. The *Washington Post* [reports](https://www.washingtonpost.com/health/2021/10/27/harm-reduction-drugs-fentanyl/?ref=fdaweb.com) the plan also calls for reducing the stigma associated with substance use disorder that can keep people from seeking treatment.

The article quotes Stanford University psychiatry professor **Keith Humphreys**, who was a drug policy expert in the Obama administration, that the plan “does the three things you have to do to reverse an addiction epidemic: prevent people from developing the disorder, treat those who have it, and keep those you can’t treat alive.”

A bit of a dissent was voiced by RTI International senior public health scientist **Jon Zibbell**, who studies street drug use. “Everything in there is kind of stuff we’re already doing,” he told the *Post*. “I see nothing in there that’s really evolving to the nature of the crisis.

As if to show its reformed character under reorganization meanwhile, Purdue Pharma, which was a focus of the eight-part Hulu series “Dopesick,” [reviewed](https://www.fdaweb.com/hulu-series-on-oxycontin-hits-hard-goes-easy-on-fda/) by *FDA Webview* editor and publisher **Jim Dickinson**, tells healthcare professionals in [information](https://www.purduepharma.com/healthcare-professionals/products/?ref=fdaweb.com) on its Butrans (buprenorphine) transdermal system CIII that the drug “exposes patients and other users to the risks of opioid addiction, abuse, and misuse, which can lead to overdose and death. Assess each patient’s risk prior to prescribing Butrans and monitor all patients regularly for the development of these behaviors and conditions.” The product information also references the opioid analgesic REMS that FDA has in place.