Brand name medication, new manufacturer?

[Dmmetler]

I finally got my prescription refilled in the original dosage, which has been out of stock since late Feb, but it came flagged as "new manufacturer". It's the same brand name and dosage and looks the same. I'm wondering if maybe they've switched where they make it or something? 

 

Has anyone else noticed anything odd with prescriptions?

[prairiewindmomma]

Look it up on drugs.com or good Rx? Brand name drugs should be by the same manufacturer. Are you sure you aren’t on a generic?

[Tap]

Sometimes manufacturers are bought out by another manufacturer. In that case it may or may not say the original manufacturer's name on the label, but it is the exact same medication. On the prescription bottle, there is a number called the NDC number. It is a series of numbers 5numbers-4numbers-2numbers. If there are leading zeros on any of the sets they may be left off. So a number like 09876-0543-01 could look like 9876-543-1. The first set of numbers identifies the manufacture, second set are the medication, third set is the  pack size.  If you have an old bottle, you can compare the numbers. If the first 5 numbers are the same, then the sticker/notification was likely a mistake. Usually the first set of 5 numbers will change when one company buys another company. 

Edited April 6, 2020 by Tap

[stephanier.1765]

My regular medications often come from different manufactures. Sometimes even in the same bottle because the pharmacy will run out of one and will fill the rest with a second. It can really throw me at times when I open a bottle and expect one shape and color and it will be a different shape and color. It's funny how our brains get used to things like that.

[Lanny]

It is not uncommon for one company to purchase another company.    I had that happen with the medicine I take, a few years ago. That involved a Generic drug. After the purchaser (a European company) purchased the Generic manufacturer here in Colombia, they raised the price. I think they raised the price so with the difference the    Consumers paid for the drug, they could recoup the cost of buying the Colombian company.

I would look on the box (if you receive the box) to see if you see the name of the old company in addition to the name of the new company. If not, I would ask the Pharmacist.

Here, we almost always get medications in the box they come in, so if one has super outstanding vision and can read the tiny type, all of the information is there.    If not, it is on an information sheet inside the box.

[Tap]

9 minutes ago, Lanny said:

It is not uncommon for one company to purchase another company.    I had that happen with the medicine I take, a few years ago. That involved a Generic drug. After the purchaser (a European company) purchased the Generic manufacturer here in Colombia, they raised the price. I think they raised the price so with the difference the    Consumers paid for the drug, they could recoup the cost of buying the Colombian company.

I would look on the box (if you receive the box) to see if you see the name of the old company in addition to the name of the new company. If not, I would ask the Pharmacist.

Here, we almost always get medications in the box they come in, so if one has super outstanding vision and can read the tiny type, all of the information is there.    If not, it is on an information sheet inside the box.

In the USA, the patient is not given a box, unless there are loose items inside it (ie packets, vials, tubes etc). Pills are put in bottles. Each medication is dispensed with a paper receipt and a medication guide with basic information for the patient like side effects. The label placed on the bottle will contain at least a portion of the manufacturers name. A longer name may be abbreviated to 4 or 5 letters, but the full name will be on the medication guide. 

ETA: in the USA only one manufacturer name will appear on the product. I assume it is the name of the manufacturer at the time that the pills are put in the manufacturers bottle. 

Edited April 6, 2020 by Tap

[prairiewindmomma]

I wanted to chime back and add that I have had some mail order supply blips with drugs lately.  A lot of things went out of stock, and when they came back, they were with different generic manufacturers.  I am fairly sure my generics had been coming from out of country, and that that supply chain is now shut off. I'm not sure where they are going to be able to purchase additional lots from once their current stock is gone. I keep watching the ashp drug shortage list--usually there are alternate manufacturers but obviously when one becomes unavailable the others can only take up the increased demand for so long.  

[Tap]

1 minute ago, prairiewindmomma said:

I wanted to chime back and add that I have had some mail order supply blips with drugs lately.  A lot of things went out of stock, and when they came back, they were with different generic manufacturers.  I am fairly sure my generics had been coming from out of country, and that that supply chain is now shut off. I'm not sure where they are going to be able to purchase additional lots from once their current stock is gone. I keep watching the ashp drug shortage list--usually there are alternate manufacturers but obviously when one becomes unavailable the others can only take up the increased demand for so long.  

This is a legit concern. We are starting to see a small increase in medication supply, but it is minimal at this time. Part of the problem, isn't necessarily the production of the medication (that would be deemed essential) but transportation logistics are slowing things a bit. You will likely seen more brand changes over the next year or so, as supply chains readjust. There are often a lot of manufacturer changes between November and March. They are often due to contracts expiring/starting in January with the big distribution centers. Some of what you may have seen, is just normal product changes we always see around the first of the year. With Covid, people may be attributing the changes to supply chain issues, when in fact, it is just a contract change. 

[Soror]

I had that happen with my thyroid med last year, nothing to do with COVID just supply issues with that med. For awhile they switched me to a different manufacturer, which did not work as well for me, thankfully that has been ironed out, I sure hope there are no more issues.

[Guest]

This is still listed as the same company, but coming from a different source if that makes any sense (like the first one was XYCCORP and this is now XYZCORP-US). On the website, it's listed as an international Company that has different divisions, so I'm guessiNg it is sourcing. The generic is a different color/shape, so this looks like the brand name based on online sources. 

 

My Endo says it sounds like they are shipping the ones usually shipped to hospitals and doctor's offices (which are individually blister packed) to pharmacies instead of the stock bottle, and if so, it should be the same without problems. 

Edited April 6, 2020 by dmmetler

[Tap]

17 minutes ago, soror said:

I had that happen with my thyroid med last year, nothing to do with COVID just supply issues with that med. For awhile they switched me to a different manufacturer, which did not work as well for me, thankfully that has been ironed out, I sure hope there are no more issues.

Especially medications that are measured in micrograms (indicated by a dose in a decimal ie 0.5mg or labeled as mcg ie 5mcg) seem to be more problematic when manufactures are shifted around. A small part of the population has issues with this minuscule changes or changes in hormone meds, but enough that it is considered valid. Sometimes when a manufacturer on Synthroid/Levothyroxine is changed, the patient needs a slight dosage change to support the manufacturer change. I wouldn't bother for a month or so, but if it is a long term change then I would have blood drawn and the dose adjusted by the doctor. 

Recently we went through a full manufacturer change with thyroid meds, because one manufacturer was having supply issues. Instead of bouncing patients around each month, we changed to a different manufacturer across the board on all our L-thyroxine meds.  That isn't always possible due to contracts, but in this case it was best for the patients. 

BTW There are people who do better on one manufacturer than others. But before anyone jumps on me for saying that we consider these complaints"valid", there are many people who feel a manufacturer change automatically means they won't like the new brand. One that used to crack us up, was when Protonix went generic. The generic manufacturer was the same as the brand name and the exact same pills were in both bottles. They even had Protonix written on the pills (a different company couldn't write that on the pills legally). So many people complained that they didn't work as well. We were like...Ummm Ok. They are the exact same pills!  The patient is just paying less because it is not a generic, so they think it doesn't work as well. The placebo effect is a very real phenomenon.

[Tap]

12 minutes ago, dmmetler said:

This is still listed as the same company, but coming from a different source if that makes any sense (like the first one was XYCCORP and this is now XYZCORP-US). On the website, it's listed as an international Company that has different divisions, so I'm guessiNg it is sourcing. The generic is a different color/shape, so this looks like the brand name based on online sources. 

 

My Endo says it sounds like they are shipping the ones usually shipped to hospitals and doctor's offices (which are individually blister packed) to pharmacies instead of the stock bottle, and if so, it should be the same without problems. 

Yep! Very possible.  Especially if it is unit dose packs. Retail pharmacy don't usually bill unit dose to insurance, because the reimbursement is off. We pay wayyyy more for blister pack/unit dose pills but we only get reimbursed for the loose pill price. Also, many insurances don't have the NDC for the blister pack on the approved list, so the insurance just flat our refuses the medication. In times of shortages, we will buy and dispense unit dose, but it is usually at a financial loss the pharmacy. 

[Guest]

It actually cost less this time than it usually does-I have no clue why. Hopefully, the pharmacy is getting it covered somehow. 

 

[Soror]

1 hour ago, Tap said:

Especially medications that are measured in micrograms (indicated by a dose in a decimal ie 0.5mg or labeled as mcg ie 5mcg) seem to be more problematic when manufactures are shifted around. A small part of the population has issues with this minuscule changes or changes in hormone meds, but enough that it is considered valid. Sometimes when a manufacturer on Synthroid/Levothyroxine is changed, the patient needs a slight dosage change to support the manufacturer change. I wouldn't bother for a month or so, but if it is a long term change then I would have blood drawn and the dose adjusted by the doctor. 

Recently we went through a full manufacturer change with thyroid meds, because one manufacturer was having supply issues. Instead of bouncing patients around each month, we changed to a different manufacturer across the board on all our L-thyroxine meds.  That isn't always possible due to contracts, but in this case it was best for the patients. 

BTW There are people who do better on one manufacturer than others. But before anyone jumps on me for saying that we consider these complaints"valid", there are many people who feel a manufacturer change automatically means they won't like the new brand. One that used to crack us up, was when Protonix went generic. The generic manufacturer was the same as the brand name and the exact same pills were in both bottles. They even had Protonix written on the pills (a different company couldn't write that on the pills legally). So many people complained that they didn't work as well. We were like...Ummm Ok. They are the exact same pills!  The patient is just paying less because it is not a generic, so they think it doesn't work as well. The placebo effect is a very real phenomenon.

I actually didn't expect to do any worse as I have other friends who do well on the same med but the difference was marked. Thankful my usual med came back in stock and I felt better and better when I switched back.