? Levemir Discontinuation

NadineTheodore

NadineTheodore

Member Since 2023
Hello everyone,

I recently went to my local pharmacy and had to go to a few to find Levemir, I learned it is in the process of being discontinued. This is really sad for me as it's the only insulin I finally had success with Theodore to get his numbers under control so I am so devastated. Further more I asked about substitutes and if Lantus was the nearest substitute, she said apparently that one was being discontinued as well. Theodore was on Lantus before but we had a harder time controlling his numbers with this....

I suppose my question is what will everyone's plan be and what's the best substitute to ask for? I am located in Canada :(
 
Perhaps the pharmacist was confused by the Ontario government requiring those anyone covered by OHIP (seniors and disability) who currently use Lantus to switch to a biosimilar (generic version).
A number of people here have used the biosimilars with no problems.
 
Red & Rover (GA) said:
Perhaps the pharmacist was confused by the Ontario government requiring those anyone covered by OHIP (seniors and disability) who currently use Lantus to switch to a biosimilar (generic version).
A number of people here have used the biosimilars with no problems.
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No, I googled it online regarding Levemir :( it is being discontinued but only found a US notice not Canadian. I sent an email to the company to confirm.
 
Jodey&Eddie&Blue said:
Did you ever get a response from the company regarding the discontinuation of Levemir in Canada?
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Yes I did:

Good afternoon,


Thank you for your email.


A continued strong volume growth of our portfolio of new generation insulins, and the unprecedented global demand for semaglutide, are challenging the supply of FlexTouch® pens as these devices are used across our product portfolio. Given that some of our products have no alternative device options available other than the FlexTouch® format, and in order for us to serve more patients with chronic diseases, the difficult decision has been made to free up capacity for FlexTouch® by discontinuing Levemir® FlexTouch® formats by July 2023. The Penfill® format will still be available.


Patients who continue to have coverage for Levemir® FlexTouch® formats have the option to transition to the Penfill® format with NovoPen® 4, our durable insulin device that is available free-of-charge for patients at the pharmacy.You can obtain a NovoPen®4 at your local pharmacy. It is free of charge and available in both blue and silver. If the pharmacy does not have any on hand, they can order it from their supplier. If they need assistance with this, please ask them to contact our Customer Care department at 1-800-465-4334.


While active medicine does not change when switching formats, to ensure patient safety it is important to note there are slight differences in the handling of Penfill® with NovoPen® 4 compared to the FlexTouch® pen. To access videos on how to use NovoPen® 4, please visit https://novopenguide.ca.


We apologize for the inconvenience and impact this may have on patients as well as healthcare professionals. If you have questions, please contact your Novo Nordisk sales representative, or reach out to our customer care team at 1-800-465-4334.


Sincerely,

Customer Care

Novo Nordisk Canada Inc.
 
Does this mean cartridges of Levemir will still be available? We don't care about the pen type, which we don't need to use anyway.
 
I got a deer in the headlights from two pharmacies that I inquired with. They haven’t been notified by Novo Nordisk of any changes, and still have the penfills available. That’s all they know.
 
Christie & Maverick said:
I got a deer in the headlights from two pharmacies that I inquired with. They haven’t been notified by Novo Nordisk of any changes, and still have the penfills available. That’s all they know.
Click to expand...

That happened to be as well with the first two I went to and then third one told me there was a discontinuation. Apparently there will be changes with Lantus as well if I recall correctly.
 
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