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Valganciclovir (Valcyte) powder instead of tablets, and getting the same effect?

Messages
65
I'm trying to figure out if the cheaper Valganciclovir drug powder that I can put into capsules, provided the powder has enough flow, will have the exact same effect (absorption, bio-availability etc.) as the tablet formulation...

Excipients and the type of coating can affect absorption (enteric coating). But so far it seems like it will have the exact same effect after I looked at the excipients, which shouldn't in this case affect absorption, and found out that the tablets are film-coated.

This means that the tablets are for taste, ease of swallowing, and because they can be teratogenic. The ISMP Do Not Crush PDF seems to confirm this.

Excipients:
Tablet core:
  • Povidone K30 [binder]
  • Crospovidone [disintegrant]
  • Microcrystalline cellulose [binder]
  • Stearic acid [lubricant]
Tablet film-coat:
Opadry Pink 15B24005 containing:
  • Hypromellose [coating agent]
  • Titanium dioxide (E171) [pigment]
  • Macrogol 400 [plasticizer]
  • Red iron oxide (E172) [coloring agent]
  • Polysorbate 80 [solubilizing agent]

I don't know if this is the right place to ask about this, but can anyone provide input on this?
 

Hip

Senior Member
Messages
17,824
You'd want to be careful with valganciclovir powder, because of its possible carcinogenicity. On valganciclovir instructions, it says:
Caution should be exercised in the handling of VALCYTE tablets and VALCYTE for oral solution. Tablets should not be broken or crushed.

Because valganciclovir is considered a potential teratogen and carcinogen in humans, caution should be observed in handling broken tablets, the powder for oral solution, and the constituted oral solution [see Warnings and Precautions (5.4, 5.5)].

Avoid direct contact with broken or crushed tablets, the powder for oral solution, and the constituted oral solution with skin or mucous membranes. If such contact occurs, wash thoroughly with soap and water, and rinse eyes thoroughly with plain water.



And here:
Be careful when handling VALCYTE tablets. Do not break or crush them. If you accidentally touch broken or crushed tablets, wash your hands thoroughly with soap and water. If any powder from the tablet gets in your eyes, rinse your eyes thoroughly with water.



Why valganciclovir is considered safe to take internally, but is a potential problem if it contacts skin and mucous membranes, I am not sure.
 
Messages
47
Assuming you have a trusted source then I would go with the powder.

While Valganciclovir is more toxic than Valacyclovir most of the scare stuff I think is overblown and has been rotting for 2 decades now. I've seen many videos on CFS and even articles where despite monitoring many people there was never an issue. Only things I could find were people that didn't have renal disease taken into account and dosing was kept standard and ganciclovir got into dangerous levels and started to cause bone marrow failure over time.

If you're sick and asking this question because of financial woes (assuming that source is legit) I would get the powder.
 
Messages
65
While Valganciclovir is more toxic than Valacyclovir most of the scare stuff I think is overblown and has been rotting for 2 decades now. I've seen many videos on CFS and even articles where despite monitoring many people there was never an issue.
I agree. A study on 26 HHV-8 patients that took Valganciclovir showed that the "medication was well tolerated; no serious adverse events occurred throughout the study. No participant experienced renal insufficiency, anemia, or thrombocytopenia on either placebo or valganciclovir."

The larger studies that had some adverse side effects were done on severe patients with renal transplantation or hematopoietic cell transplantation with late CMV disease. Even in the Valganciclovir RCT on 20 ME/CFS patients it was "well-tolerated and was not discontinued due to hematologic or hepatic adverse events," so most people with ME/CFS shouldn't have issues.