Yet more on French levo ...

[fuchsia-pink]

Latest news is that the "old formula" levo, made by Merck, originally due to be phased out by next month, will continue to be available until the end of next year - an extension due to the virus - so Covid now has one teeny-tiny upside

connexionfrance.com/French-...

[humanbean]

What do they plan to replace it with, just out of curiosity? It has no relevance to me, but I just wondered. Are they planning on replacing it with the recipe that caused all the demonstrations, or something else?

[fuchsia-pink in reply to humanbean]

According to the link, there are now 4 other suppliers of levo in France, although Merck continues to dominate the market. Bu it seems that Merck expects people to transfer over to the new formulation, which they insist is “bioequivalent” to the old one, and that the active ingredients have not changed - albeit that thousands of patients said it wasn't ... so watch this space, I suppose!

[humanbean in reply to fuchsia-pink]

Are they really that stupid? There is more to a pill than just the active ingredient(s). If you put cyanide in a pill with levothyroxine it would kill people just as well as plain cyanide without the Levo.

It's good news that four other options are now available to people who don't get on with Merck.

[Buzcat in reply to humanbean]

They are going back to the old formulation the same thing has happened here with Teva people becoming ill and it has the very same excipients as the Merck.

[fuchsia-pink in reply to Buzcat]

That would be logical - but do you have any evidence? The link doesn't say that: it just says they are sticking to the old formulation for a little longer ...

[Buzcat in reply to fuchsia-pink]

Yes to they can find a cheaper one why would you switch patients from one that they do well on and the french have won their case I have read people actually died from this formulation they brought out.

[Hidden]

The reaction of many doctors and authorities is worrying. Many claim that patients just imagined going downhill on the new formula, and in one article I read a doctor dismissed it as "media hysteria".

It´s a real shame that they destroyed what used to be a good drug (Euthyrox/Lévothyrox in France). Reminds me of what happened when they reformulated Armour, and many patients saw in return in hypo symptoms...proving that fillers ARE important, and that we all react differently to them.

It´s good that Merck no longer has a monopoly on the supply of levothyroxine in France.

[fuchsia-pink in reply to Hidden]

Agree. It seems insane as a commercial decision - there must be cost-saving implications to the new formulation - but we all know that they think of us hypos as generally stupid hysterical probably menopausal women who just wouldn't notice if they change the fillers [irony eye roll]. It would serve them right if the other much smaller suppliers got a decent toe-hold into the market.

[BrynGlas]

So that is a 'good' make of Levo? Sorry, but I have not heard of it before I don't think. Less adverse effects??

[fuchsia-pink in reply to BrynGlas]

It's a huge German company - and used to have a total monopoly on levo supply in France, with no problems at all - until it decided to change its formulation, at which point there were thousands of people wondering why they felt dreadful ... followed by a BIG class action of litigants. Eventually they had to confess that they had changed the formulation - and recently paid out to some litigants - but they still seem to be claiming it's not a biggie, and seem determined to go back to the new formula that made so many people so unhappy.