Reports of epilepsy drug harm increase 30-fold since PHARMAC switches brands

Newshub

7 March 2020 - Reports of people harmed while taking epilepsy drugs is 30 times what it was before PHARMAC switched thousands of patients to a different brand last year, as a sixth death is reported.

PHARMAC has faced criticism over switching about 11,000 patients to Logem, a generic brand of the drug lamotrigine, which helps control convulsions and stabilise moods for people with bipolar disorder.

Medsafe and patient advocates say patients with epilepsy who are stable on one brand should not be changed from that brand, as they are susceptible to even small changes in medication.

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Michael Wonder

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Michael Wonder