Entecavir pills from another supplier

Living With Hep B Treatment and Monitoring
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Hello everyone,

Today i got my new supply of Entecavir (90 pills) in the pharmacy but I noticed that they come from another supplier. In the past 6 months i took Entecavir Cipla, whereas today i got a prescription for Entecavir Amarox and I am a bit worried because of the different ingredients that are used.

(Tablet Core) Cipla: Lactose-Monohydrat, mikrokristalline Cellulose, Crospovidon, Hyprolose, Magnesiumstearat (Ph.Eur.)

(Tablet Coating) Cipla: Hypromellose, Titandioxid, Macrogol.

(Tablet Core) Amarox: Calciumcarbonat, pregelatinized starch (corn), Carmellose-natrium (Ph.Eur.), soybean flour, defatted and extracted with alkali,citric acid monohydrate, Natriumstearylfumarat (Ph. Eur.)

(Tablet Coating) Amarox: Hypromellose, Titandioxid (E171), Macrogol 400 and Polysorbat 80 (E433)

I thought it is the same supplier but with different package but when arrived at home i noticed the difference. The prescription i got it from the reception and tomorrow I will go again and disccus this with them.

Has anyone switched between suppliers of the same drug (Entecavir in this case)?

@availlant @ThomasTu can you please give me your thoughts as well on this? Is it safe to switch within different suppliers?

Thank you and best regards
Eddy

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Hi.
Nice to hear you’re going on with the treatment. Both drugs contains thesame active pharmaceutical ingredient which is Entecavir. The other ingredients you listed are called additive or pharmaceuticals excipients. Their roles are just for the preparation of the dosage form and other PK parameters.

Same drugs but different brand… You don’t need to panic, you are taking the same drug.

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Dear @Eddy ,

Both of these generic versions of entecavir contain 0.5mg entecavir monohydrate / pill, which is the most important consideration.

Both of the cores contain chemically similar fillers to make the pill large enough to handle.

Both of the coatings are also virtually identical to prevent oxidation and provide a smooth surface for easy movement through the esophagus after swallowing. Polysorbate 80 can have a mildly bitter taste but this is of no concern.

You should not be concerned.

@availlant

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