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While the Merck laboratory is immersed in the heart of a legal case on the new formula of its drug Levothyrox, it announces that it will temporarily extend the distribution of its old formula until the end of 2023. A relief for the patients concerned .
Levothyrox, a drug intended to correct hypothyroidism, has been at the heart of a legal case since its change of formula in 2017. At issue? The Merck laboratory is accused of aggravated deception following the side effects that patients experienced after changing excipients. Monday, December 5, the National Medicines Safety Agency was indicted by an investigating judge for deception. In such a context, the Directorate General for Health (DGS) confirmed “that the Merck laboratory will guarantee the supply of the French market with Euthyrox specialty for the year 2023″, the old formulation of the drug Levothyrox.
Access to Euthyrox, identical to the old Levothyrox formula
“Imports will continue to come from production intended for the Russian market and will always correspond to the Euthyrox formula, strictly identical to the old formula of the Levothyrox specialty distributed in France until 2017”specifies the DGS.
“For several years, Merck has responded positively to the request of the National Medicines Safety Agency (ANSM) by temporarily and transitionally importing Euthyrox into France, strictly identical to the old formula of Levothyrox but intended for other markets”, underlined the laboratory for its part
Relief for patients
The news was quick to react to patient associations, such as the French Association of Thyroid Patients (AFMT) or Thyroid Alert, delighted to have been able to obtain this extension, which is not the first: in the face of side effects attributed to the new formula, the distribution of the old formula, which was to stop in 2020, has been extended several times. “a great relief for the 90,000 patients concerned” underlined the AFMT.
The extension of these imports is expected to last until the end of 2023