Alan Cowan: Buprenorphine from the bench to the bedside—Personal notes

In 2005, Bob Adams, the Chief Veterinarian at Johns Hopkins, wondered if sustained release technology could be used to improve postsurgical analgesia for animal medicine. Henry Brem, Director of the Hunterian Laboratories, had organized an international consortium to advance therapy for brain tumors and stroke. The Hunterian had over 20 years of experience with the safety and effectiveness of neutral lipids, phospholipids, carbohydrates, gels, polymers, and assorted devices for sustained-release drug delivery. We had the technology. What was the best pharmacology? Buprenorphine was the obvious analgesic. Reports of adverse events in the veterinary literature were rare.