Anyone tempted to get fumaderm straight from Germany?

[sophie447]

Hello to all,

I have been thinking about ordering Fumaderm directly from Germany, since my doc already thinks that drug is better than the Copaxone I am taking while waiting. I was wondering if anyone has experience with Canadian or US customs.

Altough that drug is in fact very old, I also wonder if I really fell like taking it so early in its use for the treatment of MS, but that is a completely different subject!

[CureOrBust]

Not sure if it would be any different, but i have read on this board, of people getting it compounded locally.

[sophie447]

Not sure if it would be any different, but i have read on this board, of people getting it compounded locally.

Ummm, that seems like the best idea so far! Thanks for you reply.

[NHE]

This page may be of interest. Note that the date of this forum post was March 2008. Things may have changed since then.

Fumaderm in the US - Biogen's response to me
http://webcache.googleusercontent.com/s ... 22&ct=clnk

For anyone that's interested, I emailed Biogen and got a response regarding their Fumaric Acid Esther drug, Fumaderm or BG-12. I am interested in this form of treatment and am baffled as to why Biogen isn't putting it through psoriasis trials in the US, considering the fact it has been approved in Germany for years - and apparently works pretty well. Yes, there are some side effects, aren't there always? Anyway, not sure if we can do something with this information, but they answered my question about how one can get the product in the US. Just would need to find a derm who is able to do this? Anyone have other ideas or comments?

(From Biogen to me)
Dear Gary,

thank you for your Email to our service center. You wanted to found out how you can get Fumaderm in the US. We found a pharmacy which delivers Fumaderm in the US. Please find enclosed the needed contact details:

Komtur Pharmaceuticals
Am Flughafen 6
79108 Freiburg im Breisgau

Contact person: Frau Göpfrich, Tel. 0049 761 5042318 /fax: 0049 76150423618/email: ag@komtur.com

Below please find one possible process to order Fumaderm in the US:

First of all the patient gets the prescription from the doctor and brings it to the pharmacy/drugstore. The pharmacists should send a copy of the prescription to the address mentioned above (via fax or email is fine). Komtur will send a proforma invoice to the pharmacy and the money must be transferred (prepayment). After Komtur Pharmaceuticals received the money on their account, they'll send Fumaderm immediately to the pharmacy.

I hope this will help you. If you have any further questions, don't hesitate to contact me.

Best regards
Anja
Assistentin Marketing & Vertrieb Dermatologie

Biogen Idec GmbH
Carl-Zeiss-Ring 6

[CureOrBust]

I do not think they are necessarily the exact same chemicals

http://www.thisisms.com/forum/bg-12-dim ... ml#p198340

dimethyl fumarate and monomethyl fumarate
http://www.ipaustralia.com.au/applicant ... 010242064/

While Fumaderm is:
http://www.prescriptiondrug-info.com/Drugs/Fumaderm/

Fumaderm
Active Ingredient(s): Dimethylfumarat + Ethylhydrogenfumarat

Not exactly the same text, but maybe a chemist can chime in.

[NHE]

The main difference is between monomethyl fumarate in BG-12 and ethylhydrogen fumarate in fumaderm. Essentially, the second molecule from fumaderm has an ethyl group, CH₃CH₂-, on one end while the first molecule from BG-12 just has a methyl group, CH₃-, on the end. Both molecules have a single ester group and a single carboxylic acid bonded in trans configuration to an ethene group, >C=C<. I have no idea if the substitution of a methyl for an ethyl has physiological significance.

Fumaderm's active ingredients are listed in the German paitient's information document.
http://www.psoriasis-support.de/media/m ... 070228.pdf

FUMADERM
Enteric-coated tablets
The active ingredients are:
- Dimethyl fumarate, 120 mg
- Ethyl hydrogen fumarate, calcium salt, 87 mg
- Ethyl hydrogen fumarate, magnesium salt, 5 mg
- Ethyl hydrogen fumarate, zinc salt, 3mg.

Here is a very rough Google translastion of the pdf.
http://translate.googleusercontent.com/ ... eU-qP7EQug

NHE

[sophie447]

Hello again,

Fumaderm is easily available from all sorts of international pharmacies. If my understanding is correct, Switzerland has easier regulations than the US or Canada for dispensing drugs and there are quite a few Swiss pharmacies operating online. All they require is a prescription and a form that you sign, stating that the prescription you are submitting was obtained from a 'real' doctor in your country. To name one, I found the following: http://www.pharmaworld.com. They quoted me 100X120 mg for approx. $600 US.

Don't think I will do it for a few reasons: 1. not quite sure if the difference between Fumaderm and BG-12 is significant, 2. not sure haw hard it would be to get it through customs and 3. insurance will not pay for a drug not approved by health Canada.

Thanks to the ones who commented. Your comments are very interesting.

And as a last note, It would be very interesting to hear from anyone who has given it some tought or has tried and managed to get it done.

[monik_77]

And PSORINOVO from Nederlands??

[sophie447]

Ummm, didn't know about this one. Looking quickly, it does seem to be the same as Fumaderm. I wonder if the Netherlands have a 'easy' policy on dispensing drugs. I will look into the cost. Getting Fumaderm fromm a Swiss pharmacy would have run to close to $1000 a month with no hope of insurance coverage. That stopped me from pursuing the project. I decided to just wait for BG-12's approval.

Thank you for the info.

S

[BBE]

Pre-clinical studies and clinical trials have indicated that DMF is the most active FAE and that the additional FAE salts in the combination product Fumaderm are not required.[34]

[sophie447]

Gave it up. I know, not the same thing. The drug is now out in the US, but the $54 000 a year is hard to digest even if I have insurance coverage.

Not sure I will rush into that when it gets approved in Canada. It's a forever debate. DMD or not!!

[CureOrBust]

I read here that some people were getting FAE compounded. I wonder what exactly they were getting compounded? and if it was DMF? and if it was, if it is now illegal for people to compound it?

[sophie447]

Very interesting question. Hope someone answers.

[centenarian100]

If anyone finds a was to get a bioequivalent drug to BG-12 at a reasonable cost, please personal message me. I am very interested. What I heard is that in the United States, pharmacies will not compound a drug if there is an FDA approved equivalent because of liability issues.

[PhilTuret]

Apparently DiMethyl Fumarate can be obtained commercially from a variety of sources, one is Sigma-Aldrich. All that's needed, apparently, is a business license and a connection to a research lab of some sort. I remember Aldrich (predecessor to Sigma-Aldrich) was a supplier of 3-4,Methylene-dioxyphenylisopropylamine (MDA), before it became a controlled substance, so I'm sure they're careful about to whom they sell.