INFORMATION FOR ANYONE TAKING 'ZENTIVA' BRAND HYDROXYCHLOROQUINE:
There was recently a supply issue with Zentiva brand hydroxychloroquine which unfortunately resulted in many people being unable to fulfill their prescription for this particular brand.
The issue has now been resolved and a new supply was sent to wholesalers in the week commencing 25th September 2017.
willowwag has kindly informed me that after speaking with Sanofi they have confirmed that this has been resolved and that pharmacies should have no problems ordering again. If your pharmacy says they can't order it please ask them to phone Sanofi and they will be happy to help sort it out. They can be called on 01483 505515 and the product code 1201730. An exception to this is if your pharmacy is supplied by AAH (who do not stock the Zentiva brand) or Alliance (who are currently unable to order it from their suppliers). Until the supply issue with Alliance is resolved, you are best to use a pharmacy supplied by Phoenix or Lexon.
In addition, GloomyEeyore has let me know that when she spoke to Sanofi they informed her that AHA is no longer stocking this brand. AHA supplies Superdrug and some other pharmacies. It may be worth talking to your pharmacy and asking who their supplier is if they are unable to order Zentiva.
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Paul_Howard
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Thank you for your help with this issue Paul and for posting what you have found out. I am now 6 days without mine. I am really torn about taking another brand. Really don't know what to do for the best.
Have you tried contacting all the local pharmacies to see whether they have any? Changing brand can be difficult for some people. Generally people seem to be less likely to have adverse reactions from the Blackrock Pharmaceuticals hydroxychloroquine, but everyone is different so there are no guarantees.
Paul, just to let you know. My GP surgery dispensary told me that Black Rock is out of stock too. I went in today to speak to them about it. I ended up going to the local Boots The Chemist and they made a few phone calls, another local branch had a pack of 56 in stock and they are getting them in for me tomorrow. I just had to get my GP surgery to fax the script over to them this afternoon. So, fingers crossed that I can get them tomorrow after noon. It's been 8 days without now, so will be good to get back on them. Such a shame that Zentiva and Blackrock having supply issues at the same time. I am going to get a couple of months in, at the end of September nad keep them at home, just in case now. Thanks for all of your help. Wendy
Thank you Paul for keeping us updated. Have been trying all week at different pharmacies with no luck either, only have a weeks tabs left as Boots hadn't been bothered to let me know they were unable to get me Zentiva and tried to give me Quinoric instead which I returned to them and asked them to reorder, after 2 weeks of me chasing them they finally told me they couldn't get any supply! So frustrating at the lack of communication. I am also torn about trying another brand too (quinoric didn't agree with me) but I also feel that this problem of supply might occur again or be discontinued like Plaquenil so maybe it's good to have a backup.
Like you, Quinoric had horrible horrible side effects for me and I refuse to take it again. Another brand stained my teeth really yellow but I can't remember which one. I've been taking just Zentiva for years now. So annoying. Let's hope this issue is sorted quickly. Wendy
Hi Paul, thanks for this info. I've been struggling to get hold of Zentiva for 3 weeks via Boots. I saw an independent had a couple of boxes, so I went back to GP and got another prescription for them, but I don't know what to do about the current prescription at Boots. When you have any updates to availability , can you re post please. As many others Quinoric had such awful side effects it is not an option . As it is Zentiva took a year to bed in gradually ...
If I have any updates then I will share. At the moment I do not believe anything has changed so pharmacies should be able to have supplies again towards the end of next week (or start of the following week).
Thanks Paul for all the updates. We are in West Sussex and have not been able to find any. Wife cannot handle the other brand but trying to use Blackrock but she is spending 5-6 hours fighting the side effects. It took us weeks of chasing to convince the local GP to even give a prescription with Zentiva on it. LLoyds does not provide it Boots tried but said supply issues and most others try to give you one of the other brands. I see many postings on this subject and wonder if there is more NHS can do to help assure supply chain. Is there more we can do to help?
I'm afraid that I do not know if there is any more that can be done. Unfortunately supply issues related to manufacturing problems or ingredient shortages do occur from time to time for various different treatments. This doesn't necessarily mean that this will be a recurring problem for this particular drug.
I am sorry to hear that you have been unable to source any Zentiva tablets and that your wife is experiencing side effects with the other brands. It is worth speaking to her pharmacist at the beginning of next week to see if the supplies are available to them again and if they can order them in.
My GP found that Zentiva brand is not listed for prescription from my surgery. Something to do with NICE guidelines . However, I got my rheumatologist to tell surgery to prescribe it. It seems they have more power in the NHS. My impression is that the cheapest brand ( thereby freely available )version is Quinoric.
I have found over the last year, that other drugs I have been prescribed long term, have been changed due to NICE guidLines / GP . They all are costlier to the NHS.
Interesting. My GP has ZENTIVA brand only typed in bold on my list of meds and on my repeat prescription. Yes, it is more costly than the cheaper generic brands but when I explained the terrible side effects I suffered when taking Quinoric etc, she agreed. I also suffer IBS type stuff pre diagnosis and post - so the last thing I needed was cheap tablets upsetting my stomach further. Can I ask where you live? A lot of us get Zentiva from our surgeries so curious as to why you have been denied. Never heard NICE guidelines quoted as a reason not to have it before. Perhaps Paul can clarify it for us. Wendy
Sounds like you need to question your GP again. They may be fobbing you off, to save themselves money. Now you know there are no NICE Guidelines on prescribing Zentiva branded tablets, you can ask for clarification of their refusal to prescribe it for you. Wendy
I was told it is not on their system, therefore cannot request it. I have worked out how to get around it, but I will bear in mind what you have said, as this isn't the first drug brand I've been told cannot be ordered. i will question a bit more and get some answers, rather than be fobbed off!
Please let us know what they say, when you ask them again. All of these posts help other people in similar situations too, so interesting to know how your GP is thinking / their attitude to Lupus and the drugs etc. Best wishes. Wendy
No. I checked with the pharmacy again this morning and they still didn’t have it. They were going to phone the supplier this afternoon to see if there is any sign of it coming in.
Thanks for the update. I need to order more next week, so will see what happens then. We're nearly October now, so hopefully it wont be delayed much longer! x
Thanks for replies. Unfortunately I ran out of Zentiva last month and had to have Teva. This week I was told that the Teva brand was also unavailable. I have had to get Bristol as a stopgap until the Zentiva comes in.
No I haven't got Zentiva yet. I went into Boots on 25th told them to try again at the end of the week, nothing.....I have a rheumatologist appointment, I will ask her to do a prescription and try the hospital pharmacy / different area. So frustrating!!!
No. I went in to Superdrug on Monday and they still didn’t have any. Tried to give me Quinoric but I can’t take it. Zentiva is the only brand I haven’t had a problem with. It is on my prescription that I have to be given Zentiva. They were going to get in touch if they could get it but I have had no phone call. I just hope they are trying to get it and not hoping to move excess stock of other brands.
This has been over a month now, I think. Terrible there is still supply issues. Weren't we originally told it would be back in by the end of September? I've put my repeat into the pharmacy at my GP surgery and I'm due to collect tomorrow. So we'll see. Getting frustrated by this though. Xx
They told me there is not a problem with Zentiva. The problem is one of the suppliers who supplies pharmacies, AHA, is no longer stocking it. It just so happens that AHA supplies Superdrug, the pharmacy I use.
It may be worth talking to your pharmacy and asking who their supplier is. I got back in touch with Superdrug and they were not happy that I had been in touch with Sanofi. Need to see what will happen now.
Hi Paul let everyone know I have spoken to Zentia/Sanofi and we should now have all our normal Hydroxcycloriquine back in stock they did have a shortage but its all sorted again now and our pharmacists shouldn't have any problems as he said they are rolling them all back out as normal. if your pharmacies say the can't get it they have said to tell them to ring them and they will help sort it for us. Tel No is 01483 505515 and the product code is the same which I will also add to my post 1201730 x
I finally had a victory and recieved Zentiva tablets from Boots. I must admit its been a struggle but persistence had paid off. The dispensary staff have been as helpful as they could be after I had an argument with the dispensing chemist. Oh and its only taken about 6 weeks from me first taking my script in and being given quinoric!!
Yesterday i had to call my local boots as they constantly keep giving quinoric which i cannot take and i have to keep returning. They finally admitted the supplier doesn't stock them to which at this point i had to read your post to them citing the number and product code 😂. Lets hope this gets sorted
My HBS pharmacy hasn't been able to supply my usual Teva brand since mid September. They provided Bristol brand and I feel so unwell on them. Only other brand I have tried in the past and dealt ok with was Zentiva. I'm going to start calling around.
I gave my independent pharmacy all the info you provided here (many thanks!!) but they still gave me Quinoric said they tried but couldn’t get it despite calling the number. Will ask them to have another go. It’s been a few weeks so maybe they’ll pull their finger out. I mean get lucky. 😑.
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