In case it is of any relevance, there is now a Lannett product - manufactured by IBSA (who make Tirosint) - which appears to be the exact same product.
There has been a persistent rumour that IBSA (which is a Swiss company despite almost every mention of Tirosint referring to the USA) has (or had) plans to launch Tirosint in the UK.
If they believed the market would be large enough, I don't think there would be much of an issue. However, it would have to be specifically licensed (not as part of some EU licence). And we can wonder whether the market would ever be large enough.
There is a significant cost in applying for a licence (marketing authorisation).
If IBSA cannot see the NHS buying reasonable quantities of Tirosint, I suspect they simply cannot justify that cost. Hence discussions between IBSA and the NHS might have been held. The NHS is likely to have been unwilling to commit to quantities even as they see some reason for the product to be added to possible supplies.
IBSA appear to have no sites at all in the UK (production, research, offices, or anything else).
There are very few UK medicines which contain any gluten!
The UK's Coeliac Society says:
• The vast majority of medicines prescribed by your GP are gluten-free
• A very small number of medicines contain wheat starch which contains low levels of gluten. Wheat starch is one of many ingredients so even when wheat starch is used, the overall gluten content of the medicine is very low.
• For medicines which contain wheat starch in almost all cases, an alternative medicinal product can be prescribed, containing the same active ingredient, and which does not contain wheat starch.
• Sometimes medications can cause side effects that are similar to symptoms that occur after eating gluten. Speak to your GP if you have any unexpected side effects.
• Where wheat starch has not been used in a medicinal product, the product can be regarded as gluten-free
• The vast majority of medicines prescribed by your GP are gluten-free
• A very small number of medicines contain wheat starch which contains low levels of gluten. Wheat starch is one of many ingredients so even when wheat starch is used, the overall gluten content of the medicine is very low.
• For medicines which contain wheat starch in almost all cases, an alternative medicinal product can be prescribed, containing the same active ingredient, and which does not contain wheat starch.
• Sometimes medications can cause side effects that are similar to symptoms that occur after eating gluten. Speak to your GP if you have any unexpected side effects.
• Where wheat starch has not been used in a medicinal product, the product can be regarded as gluten-free
Last time I looked, the only ones I could find which contained wheat (not highly processed wheat starch) were products specifically made for allergy testing to see if people have a wheat allergy!
I checked the EMC website and found 11 products mentioning wheat starch - but that site is not complete:
I checked the MHRA's website and found 83 products which mention "wheat starch". (The total includes different dosages of the same medicine. The number of different medicines is, of course, lower.):
The Patient Information Leaflet should always say something like:
Also contains Wheat starch – suitable for people with coeliac disease. Patients with wheat allergy (different from coeliac disease) should not take this medicine.
I'm in the USA so I called my pharmacy just now to inquire about a generic distributed by Lannett. The employee stated they couldn't order it. Lannett may only distribute to certain pharmacies. I may have to contact them directly to inquire however most of the time they don't have that information. I went through this last year when Lannett took over distribution rights of a generic Levo I was on for years. I had to contact them to find out who they were distributing it to but to no avail.
Just been thinking, you might do better contacting the various pharmacies that are accessible to you. Though some might not yet have woken up to the possibilities.
Lannett sells to wholesalers and distributors; we do not have a database that provides the information on which pharmacies will have this product available to you. Please contact the wholesaler directly, they may be able to help you with the information you are looking for. The below have purchased this product.
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