The SSPs have been issued “in response to significant ongoing disruption to the supply of fluoxetine 30mg capsules and Salazopyrin EN-Tabs 500mg,” the Pharmaceutical Services Negotiating Committee (PSNC) said earlier this week (October 21).

The SSP for fluoxetine 30mg capsules was introduced on Tuesday (October 20), and applies to pharmacies in England and Wales.

Under the SSP, pharmacy teams can substitute fluoxetine 30mg capsules with one fluoxetine 20mg capsule, plus one fluoxetine 10mg capsule or three fluoxetine 10mg capsules.

The SSP for fluoxetine 30mg capsules is set to expire on December 22 but may be “amended or revoked at any time”, according to the PSNC.

This is the latest in a sequence of SSPs for varying strengths of fluoxetine issued this year, with SSPs for fluoxetine 40mg capsules and 10mg tablets issued several times in the past few months. The most recent SSP for fluoxetine 40mg capsules ended on October 2. 

Under the SSP for Salazopyrin EN-Tabs 500mg, which also came into effect on Tuesday, pharmacy teams may supply generic sulfasalazine 500mg gastro-resistant tablets in place of Salazopyrin EN-Tabs 500mg .

This SSP also applies to pharmacies in England and Wales. It is set to expire on December 4 but could similarly be amended or revoked at any time.

Reimbursement is “for the medicine supplied in accordance with the SSP and not the originally prescribed medicine,” the PSNC said.

This means that under the  SSPs, contractors will be reimbursed the drug tariff part VIIIA price for the fluoxetine 10mg and 20mg capsules and the sulfasalazine 500mg gastro-resistant  tablets, “or any concessionary price granted, where applicable”, the negotiator explained.