Never before has there been so often a medicine shortage in pharmacies as in 2022. Last year, a medicine was unavailable for at least two weeks 1,514 times. That is what Aris Prins, chairman of the pharmacists’ organization KNMP, says in the TV program on Saturday evening Box.
On average, a shortage lasted 91 days last year. In addition, 10 percent of the medicines completely disappeared from the market. In 2021 there was ‘only’ 1,007 times there was a medicine shortage.
The KNMP speaks of a shortage if a drug is not available nationwide for at least two weeks. There can also be several shortages of one substance in a year. If the shortage is supplemented, but the drug is not available for a longer period of time a few months later, they count separately.
Since this year, wholesalers, among others, are obliged to keep an emergency stock of medicines. According to the pharmacists, this measure could possibly counteract part of the shortages.
Bankruptcy medicine manufacturer can lead to new shortages
Recently, the drug manufacturer InnoGenerics went bankrupt. According to the Ministry of Health, it cannot be ruled out that the bankruptcy will lead to a shortage of some medicines in the coming months.
InnoGenerics makes medicines in tablet form. These include medicines for gout, depression, cardiovascular disease, epilepsy and diabetes. The company will close its doors for good next week.
The bankruptcy also leads to concerns at the KNMP. Deficits can usually be made up, for example by importing medication from abroad. But it may also be that the patient then has to continue with a different remedy for the ailment than he or she usually receives. People often find that annoying, see the pharmacists.
Shortages of medicines are the result of problems with production and distribution, among other things. KNMP wants our country to become less dependent on medication from abroad.
Minister Kuipers wants to look at all solutions
Minister Ernst Kuipers (Public Health) wants to look at all possible solutions to better organize the availability of medicines. The Ministry of Health, Welfare and Sport (VWS) not only looks at measures that the Netherlands can take itself to combat medicine shortages, but also emphasizes that it is very important for Europe to act together.
“Scarcity is a global problem and can really only be tackled properly internationally,” says a spokesperson for the Ministry of Health, Welfare and Sport. As an example of such an EU approach, the spokesperson cites the production capacity of vaccines for Europe, which is already reserved for a possible next pandemic.
