Bo2642

I'll be needing to get a prescription for malarone for my upcoming trip to southern africa. I have 16 of these tablets on hand at the moment but they are 2 years old. The pharmacy label indicates that they should be disposed of after a year. Maybe that directive is right on; maybe not. Just wanting to know if 2 year old tablets are still good, or if I should just start completely over. I'll be needing about 30. Big, big dent in the pocketbook, but obviously I don't want to get malaria.

safarichuck

The makers of Malarone, GalaxoSK, state the shelf life is 5 years. However, you have no way of knowing what the date of manufature of your Malarone tablets was. You could call the pharmacy you purchased from and ask the pharmacist what the expiration date is on his current stock. That would give you an indication at least as to whether or not they keep fresh stock on their shelves. Usually the manufacturers are very conservative on their estimated shelf life precautions.
Regards-Chuck

Bo2642

Thank you, Chuck. At your prompt, I googled "shelf life of malarone" and was directed to a Glaxco malarone site. Yep. Five years shelf life with no special handling or storage needed. I called my pharmacy and was told that they keep very little of the medication on hand and that they order as needed, so their supplies should be relative fresh. My insurance doesn't cover malarone, so this will save me quite a bit. Many thanks.
Barbara