Poor Astellas. It looks like their best "evergreening" efforts for Flomax in the UK have been thwarted!
Just when they thought they were in control:
http://pharmagossip.blogspot.com/2005/10/evergreen.html
Along comes some ways around their cunning plan:
"The Pharmaceutical Services Negotiating Committee website carries information that the Prescription Pricing Authority will continue to pay pharmacists at the capsule price even if tablets are dispensed.
More importantly, Flomax is a drug that is widely available from Europe through parallel importing. Despite the fact the UK supply of the product is likely to be exhausted in October, the availability of Tamsulosin Capsules is likely to remain problem free until December.
Action: Continue to prescribe Tamsulosin Capsules as supplies are unlikely to be affected by the discontinuation of Flomax. In the event that stock problems do arise arrangements are in place to allow pharmacists to be paid for prescriptions while issuing tablets against prescriptions for capsules."
http://www.prescriber.org.uk/?p=48
The irony is that Astellas' action will boost parallel imports of Flomax into the UK and hit Astellas UK sales targets even harder!
D'oh!
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