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MSD UK: "We believe we can meet full demand for Sinemet by second half of 2010"

20 August 2010

Sinemet pill bottlesFollowing your fantastic response to our Sinemet shortage call to action, MSD UK has stated that they believe they will meet public demand for the Parkinson's drug Sinemet "by the second half of 2010".

In response to our second round of questions about the Sinemet shortage on our questions and answers (Q&A) forum session, MSD UK, the company that manufactures the drug, stated:

"While we can not provide exact tablet numbers, we believe we can meet full demand for Sinemet in the UK by the second half of 2010 based on the information we hold of patient needs and current market factors…

"Manufacturing of both Sinemet and Sinemet CR has continued… In the UK, we are shipping more supplies of Sinemet and will do our best to meet patients' needs as soon as we can."

Our call for greater clarity

We've show that when we speak out together, as one collective voice, people will sit up and take notice of the concerns of people affected by Parkinson's.

Steve Ford, Parkinson's UK Chief Executive

Our campaign to call for an end to the drug shortage resulted in hundreds of people emailing the medical director at MSD UK to demand answers and better communication.

The response paid off. Following a meeting with MSD UK they committed to improving communication with people affected by the shortage. They agreed to take part in our online question and answer session on the shortage.

We stated the need for much greater clarity following the manufacturer's initial response to public questions and encouraged people affected by the shortage to continue to press MSD UK for answers.

View the full list of Sinemet questions and answers.

Your voice has made a difference

Steve Ford, our Chief Executive, comments:

"There are still some answers that we think MSD UK could be clearer on. But the company's commitment to meet full demand of the drug for the remainder of the year is a positive step forward.

"We're proud of the overwhelming public response to this campaign. What it shows is that when we speak out together, as one collective voice, as we have on this issue, people will sit up and take notice of the concerns of people affected by Parkinson's."

Have you been affected by the Sinemet shortage?

If you continue to experience problems with the supply of the drug in the second half of 2010 we would like to hear from you.

Call our Campaigns team on 020 7963 9332 or email campaigns@parkinsons.org.uk