Shortage of Bile acid sequestrants: colestyramine powder for oral suspension 4g (Questran and Questran Light), colesevelam (Cholestagel) and colestipol (Colestid)

Published 8th June 2018, updated 16th July 2020 · London and South East Regional Medicines Information

Bristol-Myers Squibb divested the Questran range to Cheplapharm at the end of July 2019. This affected the availability of several bile acid sequestrants. The current stock situation is as follows:

Questran Light (Cheplapharm) – available in limited quantities
Questran (Cheplapharm) – out of stock; not expected before 2021
Colestyramine light 4g sachets (Mylan)– in stock
Cholestagel (colesevelam) 625mg tablets (Sanofi) – in stock
Colestid (colestipol) plain (Pfizer) – limited supplies currently available
Colestid (colestipol) Orange (Pfizer) – out of stock; until end of December 2020

This memo advises on management options until the shortage resolves.