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You are in: Home \ IDDT International \ Canada
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IDDT Canada

Personal importation of beef

Personal Importation of Beef Insulin

Importation of drugs for personal use is allowed when a particular drug is not available in Canada. After the discontinuation of beef insulin, people in Canada access the beef insulin they need from the UK by importing for personal use.

For the importation of beef insulins, discussions took place with Health Canada to ensure that the importation process keeps the paperwork involved to a minimum and is as efficient as possible. From Carol’s discussion with Health Canada, she feels that there is understanding of the problems people are facing and a desire to be as helpful as possible. Unlike many other countries, Health Canada has agreed to allow 12 months supply of beef insulin to be imported at any one time – so reducing the administration and keeping importation costs as low as possible.

To import beef insulin

Beef insulin can be imported from Wockhardt UK [formerly C P Pharmaceuticals]. For details of how to import beef insulin visit Wockhardt’s website: www.wockhardt.co.uk

Or you can contact Wockhardt UK as follows:
Wockhardt UK Ltd
Ash Road North
Wrexham Industrial Estate
Wrexham LL13 9UF
UK

Tel +44 1978 661261 toll-free for US, Canadian citizens 011 800 667 55 555 Fax +44 1978 660130

Cost implications of importation

Carol has also had discussions about reimbursement of costs and she suggests that a special appeal be made to both the Provincial Pharmacy Plan and also to any Extended Health Benefit Plan that the insulin user might have. She says, "I am not sure if anyone has had any luck with this, but it is worth a try. I have contacted the British Columbia Pharmacare office, and they say that the drug is not licensed in Canada, but some pressure may be brought to bear. I have also spoken to one Extended Health Plan, and I think also that a letter explaining the situation may prove to be helpful - however, there are no guarantees."

Wockhardt insulins have different names from Canada.

The chart below shows the types of insulin available from Wockhardt, the duration of action and the equivalent Canadian name/type where possible:

UK name	Canadian name
Hypurin Bovine Neutral [Short]	Regular / R
Hypurin Bovine Isophane [Intermediate]	NPH / N
Bovine Lente [approximately 28hours]	Lente / L
Bovine PZI	PZI

The packaging of Hypurin insulins is in braille to help blind and visually impaired people. All the Hypurin insulins are available in 10ml vials and Hypurin bovine Neutral and Isophane are also available in 3.0ml cartridges for use with pen injection devices.

Important Points to Remember:

· This chart is a guide only and there will be variations with each individual person.

· Any change of insulin both type and brand can alter your control especially in the first few days, so you need to monitor more closely.

· Protamine Zinc / PZI has not been available in the Canada for a very long time. A number of people have reported that PZI works suitably in place of long-acting beef Ultralente insulin.