Just as the supply issue affecting rizatriptan has resolved, there is now a new supply issue for sumatriptan, the only other acute migraine-specific triptan in Aotearoa. This is due to a manufacturing issue and re-supply may not be possible until early 2027. The affected medicine is 50mg and 100mg sumatriptan tablets of the brand Sumagran. The sumatriptan injection is not affected.
An alternative brand will be funded by Pharmac from 1 October – this is called Sumatriptan Viatris. It’s the same medicine but will come in a bottle of loose tablets, not a blister pack. It’s expected to come into the market some time in November, once the existing stocks of Sumagran have been depleted.
Sumatriptan Viatris has not yet been approved by Medsafe, so it has to be prescribed as an “unapproved medication” under Section 29A of the Medicines Act. This is a pretty standard practice when there are unexpected supply issues and means your prescriber has to do a bit of extra ‘paper’ work. They will discuss what this means if you need to be prescribed Sumatriptan Viatris before Medsafe approval is granted. There’s some more information on Pharmac’s website.
Alternatively, people taking sumatriptan tablets could try the rizatriptan tablet, which is the only other triptan medication available in Aotearoa – or the sumatriptan injection.
