Conclusion. I will continue to take my chances with importing from France and India. But last time when DHL started asking questions on behalf of customs I should have immediately told them to forget clearance and return the product. I was misled in that I first advised the French source and they provided various bits of information which made no difference at all.
The main requirement is a prescription (someone wrote that doctors cannot write a prescription for a non-FDA-approved drug, but, partly based on the below, I do not think that is accurate). There are other hoops to jump through. My usual sources in India and France say they will refund any products returned (I assume the shipping charges are lost).
Part 1: Importing meds
This is what DHL says: mydhl.express.dhl/content/d...
The full DHL guide is here: goglobal.dhl-usa.com/wp-con...
This is what the FDA says:
1. Is it legal to import medicines into the U.S. from other countries?
No. The United States Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (The Act) prohibits the interstate shipment (which includes importation) of unapproved new drugs. Thus, the importation of drugs that lack FDA approval, whether for personal use or otherwise, violates the Act and is illegal. Unapproved new drugs are any drugs -- including foreign-made versions of U.S. approved drugs -- that have not been manufactured in accordance with and pursuant to FDA approval.
FDA recognizes that some individuals may seek treatment with an unapproved new drug in a foreign country and may wish to continue such treatment upon their return to the USA. Likewise, FDA recognizes some individuals suffer from conditions for which no FDA approved treatment exist. FDA has developed a guidance that identifies circumstances under which FDA may consider allowing entry of such drugs. Generally referred to as the Personal Import Policy, found in Chapter 9-2 Coverage of Personal Importations, this guidance provides FDA field offices the opportunity to exercise enforcement discretion in allowing entry of drugs when certain criteria are met. These include:
--the drug is unapproved and intended for use for a serious condition for which effective treatment may not be available domestically either through commercial or clinical means;
--there is no known commercialization or promotion of the drug to persons residing in the U.S. by those involved in the distribution of the product;
--the product is considered not to represent an unreasonable risk;
--the individual seeking to import the product, affirms in writing that it is for the patient’s own use (generally not more than a three-month supply), and provides the name and address of the doctor licensed in the U.S. responsible for his/her treatment with the product, or provides evidence that the product is for the continuation of treatment begun in a foreign country.
This FDA guidance is not, however, a license for individuals to import unapproved (and therefore illegal) drugs for personal use into the U.S. Even if all of the factors noted in the guidance are present, the drug remains illegal and FDA may determine that such drugs should be refused entry or seized. The guidance does not create any legally enforceable rights for the public; nor does it operate to bind FDA or the public. Most importantly, this policy is not intended to allow importation of foreign versions of drugs that are approved in the U.S.
The homepage of the FDA Import Program is:
fda.gov/ForIndustry/ImportP...
fda.gov/about-fda/center-dr...
Someone else wrote about their experience:
aseannow.com/topic/1178361-...
Part 2–search for Cantabiline
Following is an answer I received from a well-known integrative-medicine doctor. I have edited out the marketing bits---message me and I will forward his complete message.
“I have been doing the same search for my patients. There are no domestic sources unfortunately at this time. I have not had any issues with getting the hymecromone (Cantabaline) from France however, but at least one client of mine had the same customs issue - which can be resolved with providing a prescription from us. Have tried working with the folks on 4MUPro (Profound Products) but they go through international banking via Hong Kong and it has been flagged as an unsafe financial transaction by my bank - that was a no go. So, we continue to order this for certain clients from mon coin sante.“
The foreign sites which seem to be set up to ship into the US appear to me to take the attitude that the occasional customs denials are a cost of doing business and the great majority of the shipments do not have a problem.
I have received no response from Polska Appteczka, a Polish pharmacy in Chicago. I called and left a message, also sent an e-mail. Everything is in Polish. Will try to visit them when I am going that way.
polskaapteczka.com/products...
There are other European countries with their own versions of Cantabiline in addition to France and Poland.
Other possible meds with hymecromone:
Heparvit®, Heparmed®, DetoxPro, Adesin C
Hymecromone is available from some US suppliers for research–they do not sell to patients.
