Friday April 20, 2018

Dear COS member,

We are pleased to inform you that the shortage of DioFluor (fluorescein) strips is over. We have received confirmation from INNOVA Medical Ophthalmics and Dioptic Pharmaceuticals that DioFluor strips are now available and the company has started shipping them as of April 17, 2018.

As you know, the COS has been working on this issue since it first came to our attention in June 2017, when DioFluor strips went into shortage due to a decision at Health Canada to reclassify them from a device to a drug, which had a direct impact on the manufacturing and regulatory processes.

In addition to working with the Provincial/Territorial Drug Shortages Task Team and with INNOVA and Dioptic, the COS also drafted a joint letter to Health Canada in conjunction with the Canadian Association of Emergency Physicians (CAEP) and the Canadian Association of Optometrists (CAO) describing the impact of the shortage on our members. In September 2017, we received notice that Health Canada was working with INNOVA and Dioptic to resume the import and release of DioFluor strips, as long as specific conditions could be met by the company. In October 2017, we were informed that INNOVA and Dioptic had agreed to meet Health Canada’s conditions. Since then, the COS has been in regular contact with representatives of INNOVA and Dioptic as they have implemented the conditions set by Health Canada in order to resume production of DioFluor strips.

If you have any questions about ordering DioFluor strips, please contact INNOVA Medical Ophthalmics and Dioptic Pharmaceuticals:

416 615-0185
1 800 461-1200
[email protected]
www.innovamed.com