Manufacture and sale of Dextropropoxyphene based products. (Darvon / Co-proxamol) was banned in India during 2013 by the Drugs Technical Advisory Board (DTAB). The UK 'Named Patient' facility relied on imports from India from 2008.
In order for the 'Named Patient' scheme to continue the NHS had to Import from Australia until production resumed in India. Production began again during 2016 following the collapse of the Indian palliative care system.
The majority of rheumatoid arthritis sufferers want is effective analgesia. This was deliberately taken away from 1.75 million UK patients by MHRA in order to increase their own income and allow the 'Giant Pharma' companies to ‘Rip Off’ the NHS with more expensive alternate analgesia!
Darvon / Co-proxamol was an extremrly effective analgesic and had been used by patients for over 50 years. Now it could be imported today for just £5.00 per pack. The maximum dose would be 8 tablets daily (212 per month) at a cost to the NHS of just £10.60 per month! (£127.20 annually)
When the ban began Co-proxamol cost just £2.70, subsequent Governments had caused the price to rise to £700.00 during November 2018 and is directly responsible for the loss of the 'Named Patient' facility which had been guaranteed by Caroline Flint Minister for Public Health, and the MHRA during 2007!
For more Information read my petition on Change UK:-
Or it is a drug which has had a serious number of OD's and suicides and unfortunately is no longer safe. Where as the low dose co-codamol formulations provide equal analgesia.
MHRA have issued 298 additional ‘Marketing Authorisations’ for far more dangerous and addictive drugs since the ban was first announced in 2005.
The number of patients admitted for opioid poisoning have risen year on year since 2005, there were 4,891 admissions in 2005-06 reaching 12,254 in 2013, 7363 additional admissions no doubt costing NHS many more millions of pounds!
•Deaths from Tramadol rose from 53 in 2005 to 240 in 2014
•Deaths from Oxycodone rose from 11 in 2005 to 53 in 2014
•Deaths from Codeine rose from 44 in 2005 to 136 in 2014
•Deaths from Fentanyl rose from 3 in 2005 to 40 in 2014
•Deaths from Buprenorphine rose from 5 in 2005 to 24 in 2014
The ban has left the NHS over eight million pounds worse off annually due to the prescription price increases! Plus the higher cost for the alternate Inferior medication, and the additional prescriptions GP's have had to issue to counter the horrendous side effects patients have had to suffer!
Co-proxamol had been marketed since the 1960's, and was firmly established as a treatment for mild to moderate pain before modern standards of clinical research. Current evidence is that previous advice in 1985 to strengthen warnings about co-proxamol overdose has not impacted on the problem.
Absolute Nonsense! The figures below clearly show a 7% reduction in Co-proxamol Suicides (2000 - 2004) prior to the ban being announced! MHRA’s reasoning for the removal of the MA’s was: - 300-400 deaths per year.
Deaths from for the alternate drugs have increased dramatically since the removal of Co-proxamol! As a direct result of the Co-proxamol ban there was an alarming rise in Tramadol deaths, which resulted in the UK government urgently placing a ‘controlled status on Tramadol during June 2014.
The UK suicide rates were already declining for Co-proxamol while the drug was classed as a POM prior to the ban. Suicide/Open reports had reduced from 296 in 2000 to just 204 in 2004 A 7% REDUCTIONS WAS ACHEIVED! Further reductions could have been guaranteed by simply changing the drug classification to schedule 3 ‘controlled’.
YearCo-proxamol The Suicide Toll Was Already Falling]
Suicide, open Suicide, open, accidental
1998 298 (21) 354 (16)
1999 298 (21) 359 (16)
2000 296 (23) * 345 (16)
2001 268 (21) 322 (15)
2002 217 (18) 265 (13)
2003 196 (16) 226 (12)
2004 204 (16 ) * 249 (12)
2005 70 (6) 86 (5)
†Percentage of drug poisoning deaths shown in brackets.
Further reductions could have been guaranteed by simply changing the drug classification to
‘Schedule 3 controlled’.
Tramadol deaths fell from 240 in 2014 to 184 in 2016 as a direct result from classification changes! I feel sure if the classification had been changed for Coproxamol during 2005 the drug would have remained on the market today at a very competitive price for the NHS!
18% of drug suicides involved co-proxamol. Here people can read from the british medical journal as to what a horrid drug this is and make their own mind up ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articl.... It is many times weaker than tramadol, so why should it be a schedule 3 drug. It is just too toxic in overdose, including accidental. Not safe.
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