Switzerland has been buying from Sandoz, to replace Merck. I have been unable to get info from the other 135 countries where Merck sells pills. As my new friend in India says, it may not be a shortage of the drug; just a shortage of Merck labels. If so, the only result will be Merck's share price dropping as they concede one market after another to their competitors. Sinemet is listed by WHO as an essential drug that all nations must keep in supply, but they claim to have not heard about this situation. The Parkinson's advocacy newsletter in Switzerland is paid for by pharmaceutical companies; etc. But the mystery of Merck's behavior in this is bizarre. Jim Edwards at BNET called Merck's H.Q. and was told that the identity of the company that was supplying sinemet to Merck is "proprietary" information. The important information is kept secret from us.

In his Pharma Insight pages on BNET (CBS) Jim says:

"…Merck did not explain what the specific problem with the supply was. On Monday, Merck told BNET that the shortage “affects most markets,” but did not elaborate on why it is taking two years to change the supply source. A spokesperson said supply issues were proprietory and that the company expected regulatory approvals to be received by sometime in 2011..."