Canadian Colchicine To The Rescue?

[Keith Taylor (GoutPal Admin)]

It has been confirmed that generic colchicine continues to be manufactured in Canada.

Does anyone have information about getting US scripts filled in Canada? Any price information?

[Keith Taylor (GoutPal Admin)]

From the FMF board:

This is the colchicine made in Canada by Odan Pharmaceuticals, Montreal, Canada.

 

Colchicine can be ordered from the following Canadian drug company WITH a prescription and you can get a 3 month supply. Make sure your doctor will give you a script for 3 months and refillable 4 times, so you can have a year's supply without getting another prescription. They will tell you HOW to have your doctor FAX the prescription to them.

 

This is the best price I have found and it IS in USDOLLARS. Also as I understand it, they will give you something that you can turn into your insurance company who should refund to you, the cost they will cover and this is supposed to include Medi-care as well.  Since some of us need 180 tabs per month, we will have to buy the 200 tab bottles because they will not ship in anything but the manufacturers bottles, so make sure your doctor understands this. Instead of the script reading 180 it will have to read 200 I think. Directions could probably read 2 to 3 tablets as needed per day.

 

Patients in New Jersey can NOT receive these medications. Must be some rule that the state has – I don't know.

 

 

See:

 

http://www.canadawaydrugs.com/…..Colchicine)

 

Colchicine (Colchicine) Manufactured by Odan 0.6mg 100 $41.55 Colchicine (Colchicine) Manufactured by Odan 0.6mg 200 $66.41 Colchicine (Colchicine) Manufactured by Odan 1.0mg 100 $64.98 Colchicine (Colchicine) Manufactured by Odan 1.0mg 200 $113.65

All prices are quoted in $USD. Credit cards will be billed in $USD. The quantity will indicate the quantity in the manufacturer's sealed package. We will only ship in the manufacturer's sealed packages.

[zip2play]

Hmm, nothing for New Jersey, eh. Of course you can just GUESS my state!

That's a pretty good markup for ODAN, but fair. How much do they get for shipping…often it's outrageous?

Canadaway has an ugly little addendum at the bottom of their page:

The FDA, due to the current state of their regulations, has taken the position that virtually all shipments of prescription drugs imported from a Canadian pharmacy by a U.S. consumer will violate the law.

So much for the lip service paid to free trade.

[Keith Taylor (GoutPal Admin)]

Hello all,

I am a journalist in the UK, looking into the restrictions on generic colchicine and the problems caused for sufferers of FMF. I work for one of the UK's top pharmaceutical publications, SCRIP (you can view this online at scripnews.com).

I am looking at the human aspect of the story and trying to get more comprehesnive comment from the FDA, with whom I am currently in touch on the issue.

If anyone is interested in contributing any information, such as whether the gateway to Canada is now officially shut, or how much colchicine is left on the shelves in the US etc., I would be extremely grateful.

Best wishes and good luck,

Faraz Kermani

[Keith Taylor (GoutPal Admin)]

More power to your elbow, Faraz.

Don't forget, it's not just FMF sufferers who rely on generic colchicine, though their situation seems to be worst. Gout is widespread and growing (another issue for you – why add iron to food when most of us have too much, and iit causes gout?).

Because colchicine is so well established in medicine, doctors use it for many conditions.

In 1998 Ben-Chetrit & Levy reported:

The efficacy of colchicine has been proved in FMF, gout, Behcet's disease, and cirrhosis

A quick look in PubMed also reveals colchicine treatment associated with amyloidosis, autosomal dominant polycysstic kidney disease, pericarditis, slow transit constipation, amongst many others.

Oh, and a little known disease called cancer.

[zip2play]

Post repeatted elsewhere but pertinent in both places:

I asked the pharmacist in my supermarket (10/11/2009) if he was having trouble getting generic colchicine. He said he saw no difference in his supplers ability to give him the quantities he asked for.

NYC metro area.

[Author]

Posts