Armour no longer supplied in UK?

[CathyT]

Has anyone else heard of Armour no longer being supplied outwith the US?

I've just spoken with Pharmarama (UK importer that I buy Armour from) today (6th Aug) and they say they can no longer supply Armour as Forest Pharmaceuticals (manufacturer) is no longer exporting Armour. It is now to be for their US market only.

Pharmarama say that they are totally out of stock and cannot source any more, although they say some other importers in the UK *might* still have some stock. If they do, it'll be gone soon.

Pharmarama are advising their customers to consider switching to Erfa or Naturethroid. They have both in stock at the moment and don't foresee any supply issues with either of them.

Has anyone else heard of this? Not sure whether it's common knowledge and I've just missed it.

[shaws Administrator]

Is it Big Pharma pulling their weight? It started with stopping Credit Card transactions.

[CathyT in reply to shaws]

I don't know. I figured it might be due to Forest being bought over by Activas. Activas will be looking at their total portfolio of drugs and picking and choosing which of Forest's products to retain, and which markets to supply them to.

I can understand it on that basis, as Activas produce synthetic Levo and supply in UK via NHS. They'll know that Armour is "named patient only" in UK and there's no prospect of that changing in foreseeable future.

[Clutter]

Cathy, Forest stopped exporting to Europe some time ago but Armour can still be imported from distributors in the USA by specialist wholesale suppliers like IDIS now Pharmarama has decided to stop importing. thyroiduk.org.uk/tuk/treatm...

healthunlocked.com/search/A...

[CathyT in reply to Clutter]

I'm confused Clutter! Isn't Pharmarama a specialist wholesale supplier? I know they're suppliers to the NHS.

Also, they told me that it is Forest's decision to restrict supply, not Pharmarama's decision to stop importing.

[helvella Administrator in reply to CathyT]

We are, I think, all confused.

I think that IDIS get their Armour supplied from a distributor in the USA whereas Pharmarama used to get theirs from Forest. I do not know if there is something else going on which stops Pharmarama getting it through a distributor.

[Clutter in reply to CathyT]

Pharmarama is one of several specialist importers, Cathy and it was mentioned over 3 months ago in one the posts I linked to that they would not continue supplying Armour in the UK when their stock ran out.

[CathyT in reply to Clutter]

So are you both saying that we should be able to still buy it, as long as our supplier buys from an intermediary in the US and not directly from manufacturer?

[helvella Administrator in reply to CathyT]

I am certainly saying there is a possibility that is the case! And I certainly hope you can.

Let me put it another way, I don't know it's not the case.

Rod

[CathyT in reply to helvella]

Thanks Rod. I'll call around and let you know who says they can supply.

[Clutter in reply to CathyT]

Cathy, you should still be able to buy it if your pharmacist orders through IDIS, which is in the UK, or one of the other UK wholesalers on the link I provided.

[CathyT in reply to Clutter]

Thanks Clutter. My local pharmacies charge over £300 to supply my Armour prescription, hence buying from Pharmarama as they only charge fifty-odd pounds for same dose.

I'll do a phone around those other companies and hope for the best! Thanks a mill for your help. X

[Clutter in reply to CathyT]

Cathy, it may be cheaper to buy online using your prescription. I'll PM you a couple of pharmacies so you can compare costs. You can also post a question asking members to PM you with USA and other sources.

[Maui52 in reply to CathyT]

Please let me know how you get on. Thanks

[claudiasmum]

Oh no! I have been struggling to get hold of it recently. This is very worrying

[CathyT in reply to claudiasmum]

Claudiasmum, where have you tried to get it recently?

[claudiasmum]

I usually get it from Pharmacy2u online but they couldn't supply it and Boots could only get single grains which is a problem taking into account my dose both because it doesn't split easily into halves and because the single grain costs more than the multigrain sizes relatively.

[CathyT in reply to claudiasmum]

So do you get your prescription on NHS or privately?

[claudiasmum]

Privately since about three months ago when the NHS refused it to me having given it to me for five years.