Action forthcoming on T3 prices

[diogenes]

An article today in The Times showing that at last the Government is taking notice of and will take action on, the ramping up of prices for drugs such as T3 and other non branded drugs. Whether however they'll get them ramped down again is quite another matter. BTW re the difficulty of making T3 - Sigma Aldrich sell the same amounts of pure T4 and T3 for virtually the same price. So no difference there.

thetimes.co.uk/edition/news...

[helvella Administrator]

Isn't Uni-Pharma levothyroxine a little more expensive than their liothyronine on a tablet by tablet basis? (Greek local prices assumed.)

[shaws Administrator in reply to helvella]

I paid the same for either.

[jimh111]

Diogenes,

Thanks for posting this. A couple of links:-

This services.parliament.uk/bill... is the official link to the bill which contains information in gobbledygook. It also has a link on the RHS ('Stay up to date') where you can receive updates.

This gov.uk/government/publicati... is written in English and may be helpful.

[helvella Administrator in reply to jimh111]

Just a thought.

When Mercury Pharma pulled Eltroxin, could they have had the intention of using the same loophole to raise prices on their unbranded levothyroxine? (Obviously, the competition from Actavis could have been an issue but perhaps they hoped Acatvis would be happy enough to increase their prices as well.)

Now they can see the "loophole" being plugged, they can see there is no longer any reason to keep Eltroxin off the market.

What will be interesting is how the prices that have already shot up (obviously, liothyronine) are treated by both the government in its various guises and the company.

[jimh111 in reply to helvella]

They did not pull Eltroxin, distribution was suspended for a period so they could produce more generic levothyroxine (with the permission of the MHRA!). It is quite possible they want to reduce the sales of Eltroxin so that they can drop it, so it's important to get your doctor to specify 'Eltroxin' if that is what you need - even though the AMCo generic is the same.

Just to be clear - Eltroxin is now available, although it can be difficult to obtain. At the moment Eltroxin is fractionally cheaper than the generic form which is not subject to price regulation. If you want to keep Eltroxin or an identical generic available in the future you need to get your GP to prescribe Eltroxin - use it or lose it.

[Dee188 in reply to jimh111]

Thanks its about time the drug companies were investigated for over charging on generic brands (those drugs that fall outside of the drug developers 10 year exclusive licence), its no wonder the NHS costs so much to run.

Wonder how many MPs/Peers have their fingers in the drug industry pies, maybe when it comes time to vote all will be revealed!!

[helvella Administrator]

Always looks like Synthroid price is made up something like this:

Product, packaging and dsitribution - $1

Promotion and marketing - $16

Profit - $20

[Heloise]

Thanks for the news, diogenes.

"Liothyronine is a T3 thyroid hormone normally synthesized and secreted by the thyroid gland in much smaller quantities than thyroxine (T4). Most T3 is derived from peripheral monodeiodination of T4 at the 5' position of the outer ring of the iodothyronine nucleus. The hormone finally delivered and used by the tissues is mainly T3." from PubChem

T4 is cheap, can we find someone to do the derivation????

[diogenes Remembering in reply to Heloise]

T3 is made like T4. First you make the carbon skeleton that is the basis of both molecules. For T4 you just iodinate the 4 bonds that accept the iodine. For T3, you first chemically block the bond you don't want iodine on, then iodinate the others, then remove the blocking agent. Simples.

[Heloise in reply to diogenes]

Really, easy peasy?

Shall we start a company? My son has a PhD in biomedical engineering and has a company; we can get lots of investors from HU, no doubt.

I'm sorry I missed your latest news but bravo on that. It's always exciting to be published!

[Hillwoman in reply to Heloise]

Count me in!

[Heloise in reply to Hillwoman]

Don't we wish