Sanofi US updated their website w/ a page detailing the Return & Reimbursement Process.

This has been vey confusing, as to whether ALL Auvi-Q's are under the recall up to this point.  Many on the Sanofi Lines were told it was only limited to Auvi-Q's with Expiration dates of March 2016 and later, with the lot numbers described for those Auvi-Q's. I myself received a return phone call from the FDA confirming exactly the same information, and that those Auvi-Q's with exp. dates of February 2016 and before should be fine.

 

NOW SANOFI HAS REMOVED ALL DOUBT:  ALL AUVI-Q AUTO-INJECTORS ARE IN THE RECALL, WITH EXPIRATION DATES OF OCTOBER 2015 THROUGH DECEMBER 2016, and has expanded the list of lot numbers recalled to include all of them, on their updated Recall Notice, available on their website.

 

Thank you all for investigating this issue and sharing your results with the rest of us here!

 

My pharmacist at Rite Aid collected multiple packs of unused Auvi-Q's from me which I collected from my son's school, both of his homes, and another caregiver, for exchange.  I called our insurance and was able to get the usual coverage for 3 sets of EpiPens this month vs. the usual 1 pkg every 30 days, with my doctor's prescription.  I appreciate that, but want to add that it is only because I have my own Rx for EpiPens for my bee sting allergy, which I refilled yesterday, was I able to have enough auto-injectors to give out to the rest of the locations my son absolutely had to have them in.  I sincerely hope other families who need sets of these auto-injectors available at multiple locations are able to get them right away.  I myself could not have afforded to pay outright the enitre cost of these multiple replacement sets of EpiPens without insurance agreeing to offer extra coverage for these right away. In other words, if I had to wait for reimbursement from Sanofi and/ or pay completely out-of-pocket for more than ! replacement pack, I could not pay the price and keep him reasonably prepared to treat anaphylaxis.

 

Thanks Again!

My Target pharmacy called me yesterday to make sure that I knew about the recall and she told me that they were asking their patients to bring their recalled Auvi-Qs to the pharmacy when they pick up their new prescription.  I was able to fill one Epipen, Jr. prescription and my second will be filled when their truck arrives (they were completely out of Epipen, Jrs. and only had one Epipen on the shelf).  

 

I don't know if all pharmacies are calling their patients and handling the recall for them or not, but I really appreciated their calling to make sure that I knew about it.   I was able to use the Epipen savings card to get my Epipen for free and didn't have to wait on the phone to talk to a representative or do any paperwork to do the recall.  Hopefully this will be an option for some other people too.

UPDATE: Sanofi opened a second phone number to handle customer service during this recall.

 

You can call Sanofi at either 1-866-726-6340 or 1-877-319-8963 Monday through Friday 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. ET .

I called waited 45 mins. Gave my name for the Return/ Reimbursement packet and asked about Oct 15 to Feb 16 Expiration dates and was told they were fine.   So not sure if I trust it after y'all were told it is ALL DEVICES.

I got one set of replacements. Called my insurance company and they over ruled to allow me to get another set tomorrow (pharmacy only had one set on the shelf).  They allowed because need at least two sets at school since one set is locked in office and one set is in my child and roams with her. Will have to replace others one set a month.  My purse Epi-Pen expires 12/15. Just bad timing.

Thanks for the update... I spoke with someone from Sanofi last evening and she told me my previous pens (not included in the recalled lot numbers) would be safe. However, she also indicated that they were only then getting detailed information and couldn't tell me more than the press release had stated.  It made me nervous using an earlier device considering Sanofi has inferred that they are not exactly sure what is occurring with the dosing, thus making me concerned that ALL devices are suspect.  I figure better safe than sorry and won't use any of my AuviQ's regardless. 

 

 

I heard from Sanofi. It is a recall of ALL autoinjectors regardless of lot numbers.

Update: We have confirmed this recall affects ALL Auvi-Q devices. It doesn't matter what lot number.

 

Update: Sanofi confirms the phone number in the press release is correct. The lines have been overwhelmed by calls. They are adding more staff and opening more lines. The number will remain the same: 1-866-726-6340 Monday through Friday 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. ET

Hello, fellow parents! I just hung up with the service agent I reached via the 800 # listed on the press release. I waited 40 minutes in queue first. They are sending a recall packet, which arrives in 5-10 biz days. Meanwhile, I can go to pharmacy and buy (out-of-pocket) a new epi (not Auvi-Q, as they are all being taken off shelves), and I'll be reimbursed the cost after I send in proof-of-purchase along with my recalled Auvi-Qs.

Amber, we will contact Sanofi to clarify.  I can see why there's confusion.  We were told all Auvi-Qs and the FDA recall says all Auvi-Qs. But the lot numbers in the recall don't include all Auvi-Qs that people have.

 

Thanks!

Lynda

Lynda, It says all Auvi-Q's currently on the market and gives the numbers and dates, ones issued with March 2016+ expiration dates.  Some of our Auvi-Q's, which are NOT currently on the market, expire in October 2015 and February 2016.  These auvi-Q's are not referred to by Sanofi, the FDA, etc, thus the ambiguity.

 

I will am in process of getting some EpiPens to replace all of our Auvi-Q's, but I cannot imagine being eligible to replace them all immediately, and certainly do not expect Insurance or Sanofi is going to cover replacing more than 1 pack per month at most.  So it would be good to know if some older Auvi-Q's could be relied upon for a tempory fill-in until we get enough EpiPens to replace all of them, in all locations.  I am not going to dispose of these older auto-injectors until I am sure.

 

Thanks!

 

Amber Houk

It is for ALL of them. Please see this post on Sanofi's Severe Allergy Awareness facebook page.

Leslie, I hope you are correct about the Auvi-Q's with exp. dates sooner than March being fine to use.  Another food allergy organization, Snack Safely, is posting that ALL Auvi-Q's are being recalled. There is no information regarding this question from Sanofi, etc., that I can find.

 

Hopefully we will get more answers today, and there will be ways to ensure all can obtain the epinephrine they need  to replace these Auvi-Q's, right away.

Amber B., I think any auvi-q that expires before March and which has a lot number that is not within the numbers listed is perfectly safe and I would use those first in case of an emergency.

 

I have the same concern that there will be a run on Epipens and they may be hard to get.  I contacted my pediatrician and allergist for refills as soon as I saw the recall.

So after reading the info from Sanofi regarding this recall, I am wondering if we are to assume the Auvi-Q's with Expiration dates prior to March 2016 are considered perfectly fine.

 

 

I also am concerned about replacing all of the sets of Auvi-Q's we need right now, some kept at school, my ex-husbands house, other care providers, and extra on-hand when we are traveling in areas remote from emergency medical care, as well as for those times our primary pack of meds gets misplaced, frozen, or "fried," which does happen more than once a year.  This is why we get our prescription refilled many months of the year. I am not optimistic patients can trade in multiple packs of unexpired Auvi-Q's for other auto-injectors right away, in order to receive more than one pack per month.

 

I guess in the future we will try to get prescriptions of more than one brand of Auto-injector and have them on-hand in case of another recall like this.  Never thought about a situation like this.

 

Kudos to Sanofi for taking action.  Hoping more information on these issues will be available very soon.  I did email questions to Sanofi last night.

 

Sanofi has a Q&A on their website with additional information.

 

They also note the following regarding the phone number:

Due to high volume of calls being received on the Auvi‑Q customer service phone line, callers may periodically receive a message that the line is down. We appreciate your patience and please call back.

Thanks for the update!  I have one Epipen, Jr., so I am hoping to bring it back and forth to school without any hassle until I can get a refill.  I think I will keep both Epipens and Auvi-Qs in the future in case this happens again.

I received the 'No longer in service' recording as well to the number posted.  I pulled the number listed in the AuviQ pamphlet (800-633-1610) and connected without issue.  Be warned... I spent 1.25 hours on hold only to be spoon fed the same information we read in the notice above.  However, they are sending me a shipping label to return my AuviQs, and told me to include any receipts for the new Epi's in the package for reimbursement.  Unfortunately, they just don't have any confirmed information to pass along about the dosing issue to date.

I called the number listed on the post as well about 45 minutes ago.  I received a recorded message and then was asked to leave my name and number, which I did.  I'm sure the company is working quickly to figure out how to get all the devices returned.

Update: Sanofi Canada is recalling all Allerject epinephrine auto-injectors as well.

 

http://sanoficanada.mediaroom....rate-Dosage-Delivery

 

 

We will be reporting this issue along with other concerns from our community to Sanofi US.

 

Thank you!

I've heard many others reporting getting a message about the number being disconnected.  But others are reporting it works.  It may just be that their circuits are overloaded with everyone calling right now.

The phone number listed in this article :  1-866-726-6340 

is not in service. I called 4 times and got a recorded message each time saying this number is no longer in service.