Drug shortage alert: Levetiracetam

July 6, 2015

Levetiracetam is available. However some specific levetiracetam products are currently in shortage.

Question:  What does this mean for people with epilepsy?

Answer:  There is levetiracetam available from several pharmaceutical companies. This means that pharmacists should not have any difficulty obtaining levetiracetam for their clients. Some drug stores may have to get levetiracetam from a different pharmaceutical company and fill prescriptions with an alternate type of levetiracetam. The different versions of levetiracetam are considered to be interchangeable.
Therefore, at the moment the primary concern is for people who have trouble switching from one formulation to another and whose regular version of levetiracetam is not available.
If you have any questions, or need assistance please call us at 905-474-9696 or toll-free 1-800-463-1119, or send an email to [email protected].

Products in shortage (as of June 29, 2015):

  • Levetiracetam tablets from ACCORD HEALTHCARE INC:
    250 mg (DIN 02399776)
    500 mg (DIN 02399784)
    750 mg (DIN 02399792)
    Accord Healthcare is out-of-stock on all 3 formulations of levetiracetam.

  • APO-levetiracetam APOTEX:
    250 mg (DIN 02285924)
    500 mg (DIN 02285932)
    Both the 250 mg and 500 mg Apotex tablets are on backorder. The company’s estimated resupply date for these products is July 12, 2015.

  • DOM-levetiracetam DOMINION PHARMACAL:
    250 mg (DIN 02297396)
    500 mg (DIN 02297418)
    750 mg (DIN 02297426)
    All three DOM-levetiracetam formulations are on long-term backorder.

  • PMS-levetiracetam PHARMASCIENCE INC:
    250 mg (DIN 02296101)
    500 mg (DIN 02296128)
    750 mg (DIN 02296136).
    All 3 PMS-levetiracetam formulations are posted on drugshortages.ca. The estimated resupply date is not available yet, it is listed as TBD.

Pharmaceutical companies are expected to post notifications in advance on drugshortages.ca. However, only Pharmascience Inc has provided notification on the reporting website.

Read our drug shortage FAQ’s: click here

Levetiracetam products that are not in shortage (as of June 29, 2015)
ABBOTT-levetiracetam (ABBOTT LABORATORIES, LIMITED)
ACT-levetiracetam (ACTAVIS PHARMA COMPANY)
APO-levetiracetam (APOTEX) 750 mg tablets only.  [250 mg and 500 mg tablets are in shortage]
AURO-levetiracetam (AURO PHARMA INC)
JAMP-levetiracetam (JAMP PHARMA CORPORATION)
RAN-levetiracetam (RANBAXY PHARMACEUTICALS CANADA INC.)
Keppra (UCB CANADA INC)

Status unknown?
PHL-levetiracetam (PHARMEL INC) (514) 374-9833 – the phone number is not in service.
PRO-levetiracetam (PRO DOC LIMITEE) (450) 668-9750 – we left a message and are waiting for a return call.
Levetiracetam from SANIS HEALTH INC (866) 236-4076 – there was no answer when we called the customer service line.