Hi Bob, further to your Sinemet story, I am now getting my MSD branded Sinemet in plain pharmacy supplied boxes (they previously came in MSD branded boxes). They are still the yellow oval tablets, 100/25's. The boxes contain leaflets dated 03.09.3009, stating the medicine is manufactured by MSD, Italia S.P.A., Via Emilia, 21-27100 Pavia, Italy, procured from within the EU by Neccessity Supplies Ltd and repackaged by License holder Primecrown Ltd, Middlesex, UB8 2RZ. Despite the date on the leaflet, this is not what it used to say in 2009.

The leaflet still does not really say where they are manufactured, could be Italy or China. Very unclear. Other recent supplies have come via Franceand Spain, and the clips have had various packing. The ones described above are hard and break crisply. They have a long expiry date of 01.09.2018. Some of the others have been crumbly. They have had short dates, the latest being 2013.

There is a qualitative difference between the hard and the crumbly tablets.

I am glad that Sinemet has been logged as story 17 by Jacalyn. In terms of medication security I think we are no closer to an ideal situation than in 2010, and perhaps are further away, even though supplies are at the moment fairly consistent. Every so often a shortage story crops up in another different country. In some ways things are more muddy now. We have no real way of tracking what is happening elsewhere and knowing whether the more recent shortages are medication shortages or problems in the supply chain. Certainly here in the UK changes to procurement as the NHS becomes less cohesive are likely, and medications could change hands more times en route to the patient.

Many thanks for keeping this information out there.
Lindy