Posted by ed_uk on September 10, 2005, at 10:15:03
In reply to Ed - Have you come aross this in the pharmacy?, posted by Nickengland on September 10, 2005, at 9:49:51
Hi Nick,
>Have you come aross this in the pharmacy?
Yes, it's called a parallel import. In the UK, it is legal to import drugs produced within the EU - medicines which have been produced according to the specifications of the European pharmacopoeia.
Does it say Topamax comprimidos on the packet?
>Anyway, I thought all Topamax came prepared in small plastic bottles?
Nope ;-)
>Do they sometimes import medication from abroad like this???
Yes, it's very common. Parallel imports are less expensive. They are sometimes produced in the UK, sometimes elsewhere in Europe. Despite the fact that your medication was made in Buckinghamshire, shipped to Spain then brought back to the UK, it's still less expensive than UK Topamax. This is because Spanish medication is less expensive that Uk medication. We use a lot of Spanish brands: Aremis, Besitran etc. Greek and Italian medication is also cheaper. We use a lot of Greek venlafaxine.
>this stuff is fake
It's not. It's produced to the same quality control standards as UK Topamax......... but it's cheaper.
>Have you ever come across this before?
I've seen Topamax from lots of countries! Is it the one in the long blue box?
>Lastly, I thought because of having had Topamax packaged in a plastic bottle, that might be done for a specific reason?....or does it not matter vs that of the blister pack strips?
Most UK medication comes in blister packs. Most US medication comes in bottles. It varies according to the country. You'll never get US medication from a UK pharmacy though. Parallel imports must come from the EU.
>But thats not the only weird thing, the actual box, although it says "Topamax"....all the language on the packet is in Spanish!!???....
The brand name is Topamax in most countries. It's weird, even in Greece, where they use a different alphabet, brands names are still in the Roman ('English') alphabet.
Kind regards
~Ed
poster:ed_uk
thread:553177
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20050909/msgs/553182.html