I am taking Sulfasalazine as prescribed by my Rheumatologist, but the
extended release tablets I have contain corn starch, which I am
allergic to.  I am interested in a list of generic Sulfasalazine
manufacturers so I can call them and find a preparation with no corn
starch.

Peter McFadden

Hello:

A current and reputable list of brand names is available from the US
National Library of Medicine at
http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/druginfo/sulfasalazinesystemic202537.html#Brands
The Canadian CPS, Compendium of Pharmaceuticals and Specialties, will
provide the manufacturers of the Canadian that are listed in the
website above.  It is not free online.

I am a recently retired medical librarian and the only source I know
of which provides international information on propietary names of
drug preparations is the Martindale Extra Pharmacopoeia, published in
London, England.  It is available online but requires a paid
subscription, as you can see by going to the website at
http://www.bradford.ac.uk/library/elecinfo/martindale.php

You will see that the Pharmacopoeia includes Preparations and brand
names.

I am holding a 1993 copy of it; it has 2360 pages of fine print.  In
it, at the time of publication, there were 9 preparations available,
and there are probably more than that by now.  To look these up, you
would need to go to a large public library, or a University Library,
or a health sciences or medical library that holds the Martindale
Pharmacopoeia, or has an online subscription.

The proprietary names that existed in 1993 are listed below, along
with websites where more can be learned about each one::

Azulfidine at http://www.rxlist.com/cgi/generic/sulfasal.htm
Colo-Pleon  at http://www.m-ww.de/pharmakologie/arzneimittel/rheumamittel/sulfasalazin.html
Salazopyrin  at http://www.rheumatology.org.nz/nz09010.htm
Salazopyrina at http://www.crohn.it/documentazione/FAQ/donne_incinte.asp
(use the Find function)
Salazopyrine at http://www.mater.ie/rheum/salazopopyrine.htm
Salisulf Gastroprotetto (cannot locate website)
S.A.S. (no website)
Sulazine  at http://www.gnc.com/health_notes/Drug/Sulfasalazine.htm
Sulfazine at http://admin.savrx.com/external/rx/index.php3?page=SULFAZINE
Ulcol at http://arthritisinsight.com/medical/meds/sulfasalazine.html

Addresses to all drug companies in the world are available at: 
http://www.pharma-lexicon.com/index.php?page=companies&title=Pharmaceutical+Companies+Drug+Manufacturers#

Unfortunately, there is no single free online site which directs you
from proprietary names to manufacturers to address/telephone location
materialr. Good luck in finding a preparation without cornstarch.

Librarian-Pro

I'm posting this as a comment rather than an answer because according
to the current news you're going to need all the money you can get to
pay for your prescription drugs (as will we all). Hopefully someone
else will give you a fuller answer, but here's some quick "free"
information that I hope helps you.

The Physician's Desk Reference (PDR), 56th edition, 2002 (p. 128) only
lists three US based manufacturers of sulfasalazine. They are
Pharmacia, Upjohn, and Watson. The first two companies appear to be
the patent holders (non-generics) while Watson Laboratories appears to
be the sole manufacturer of generic version of sulfasalazine (at least
they're the only one listed in the PDR).

You can find Watson Laboratories on the web at:

	http://www.watsonlaboratories.com/

The PDR gives contact information on page 3369:

Watson Laboratories, Inc.
311 Bonnie Circle
Corona, CA 92880

Customer Service Dept phone: (800) 272-5525

The COMPLETE DRUG REFERENCE (1997 edition, New York : Consumer
Reports) lists several alternative means of delivery of this
medication (p. 1505) but apparently only in Canada! Unique (non-US)
Canadian options include:

Oral
	Capsules
	Oral Suspension
Rectal
	Enema

O Canada!

fugitive-ga

Hi there,

Still checking on your Azulfidine EN-tabs and here are a couple links
if another researcher would like to investigate further.

http://www.gnc.com/health_notes/Drug/Sulfasalazine.htm
http://www.prebot.com/prebot2.cgi?modlist=engweb&q=sulfasalazine

Hi,

You can ask your doctor or pharmacist about the enteric form of the
drug. If you scroll mid-way down the following page, you can view the
nonmedicinal ingredients of both forms. You will see that the enteric
form doesn't have starch. Scroll down to the section with the heading
"What form(s) does this medication come in?"

Alti-Sulfasalazine (brand name)
Sulfasalazine (common name)
http://www.mediresource.com/pages/DrugInfo.asp?BrandNameID=979

Your pharmacist should be able to tell you how to obtain it if his
drugstore doesn't carry it. Therefore you shouldn't have to contact
the pharmaceutical company directly.

Best wishes,
fsw

The American Academy of Family Physicians suggests that Azulfidine-En
is the only form of the drug approved by the FDA for treating
rheumatoid arthritis .  See:
http://www.aafp.org/afp/20010315/clinical.html.
Good luck in your search for the right medication.