Reckitt Benckiser attacked over plan to stop making Suboxone heroin substitute pill The active ingredients of both products are the same, combining buprenorphine, a painkiller derived from opium poppies, with naloxone, a chemical that blunts withdrawal symptoms. Together, the two types of Suboxone gave Reckitt revenues of £762m last year. A statement from the company said it notified the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) of its decision on September 18. It added that tablet production will end within the next six months, possibly sooner depending on talks with the FDA. Reckitt's film product is patent-protected and has captured a 70pc share in the market, while the Suboxone tablets lost US patent protection in 2009 and are shortly expected to face competition from generic suppliers. A generic tablet entry would eliminate up to 90pc of tablet revenue compared with 15pc potential loss in the film market, according to analysts at Sanford C Bernstein. The analysts said that, while the FDA may take a "cynical" view of the reasons for the discontinuation of the tablet version, the concerns over children being more likely to take the tablets accidentally means it is "unlikely to be aggressively negative." They said investors should be "relieved" about the reduced threat to the company of generic entry. The announcement comes a week after the consumer goods giant parted company with its chief financial officer, Liz Doherty. Mr Kapoor said: "Liz and I have agreed that Reckitt Benckiser's and her way of working are not as well matched as either of us would like."