Europe is running out of medicines

When you’re feeling down, the last thing you want to do is travel from pharmacy to pharmacy in search of basic medicines like cough syrup and antibiotics. Yet many people across Europe—especially those facing harsh winter bug weather That’s all you have to do.

From the end of 2022, EU countries are reporting serious problems trying to source some critical medicines, most of which are now experiencing shortages. So how bad is the situation and, importantly, what is being done about it? POLITICO brings you the main points.

How bad is the shortage?

in A survey of groups representing pharmacies Among EU members as well as 29 European countries, including Turkey, Kosovo, Norway and North Macedonia, nearly a quarter of countries reported shortages of more than 600 medicines, and 20 percent reported shortages of 200–300 medicines . Three-quarters of countries said the deficit this winter was worse than a year ago. Groups from four countries said the shortfall has been linked to deaths.

This is a picture supported by data from regulators. Belgian authorities reported approx. 300 drugs There is a shortage. in germany that’s the number 408while in austria more than 600 Medicines cannot be bought at pharmacies at this time. list of italy is even longer – containing more than 3,000 drugs, although many are different formulations of the same drug.

Which drugs are affected?

Antibiotics – especially amoxicillin, which is used to treat respiratory infections – are in short supply, Other types of medication are also rare, including cough syrup, children’s paracetamol and blood pressure medicine.

Why is this happening?

It is a mix of increased demand and less supply.

Seasonal Infections – Influenza and Respiratory Syncytial Virus (RSV) First and foremost – started early and is stronger than usual. is also an unusual the outbreak Strep A sore throat in children. Experts believe that the abnormally high level of disease activity is linked to weakened immune systems that are not familiar with the soup of germs that surround us in daily life due to the lockdown. This tough winter, after a few quiet years (with the exception of COVID-19), unprepared drug makers.

Inflation and the energy crisis are also taking a toll on pharmaceutical companies, affecting supplies.

Last year, Sentient Pharmaceuticals, a Dutch producer of active pharmaceutical ingredients, Told his plant was producing a quarter less production than in 2021 due to higher energy costs. In December, another manufacturer from the Netherlands, Inogenrich, was Bail To keep his factories open after he was declared bankrupt by the government.

The result, according to Sandoz, one of the largest producers of the European generic market, is a particularly “tight supply situation”. A spokesperson told POLITICO that other culprits include raw material shortages and a lack of manufacturing capacity. He said Sandoz is able to meet demand at the moment, but “is facing challenges.”

How are governments responding?

Some countries are putting brakes on exports to protect domestic supplies. In November, Greece’s drug regulator expanded the list of drugs that can be resold to other countries – known as parallel trade – banned, romania Exports of some antibiotics and children’s painkillers have been temporarily suspended. Last week, Belgium published a decree This allows the authorities to stop exports in case of crisis.

These freezes can have knock-on effects. A letter from European Health Commissioner Stella Kyriakides, addressed to Greece’s Health Minister Thanos Peleris, asked him to take into account the effects of the restrictions on third countries. “Member States should refrain from taking national measures that could affect the EU internal market and prevent access to medicines for those in need in other Member States,” Kyriakides wrote.

German government is considering the law is changing To ease procurement requirements that currently force health insurers to buy drugs where they are cheapest, concentrating supply in the hands of some of the most price-competitive producers. The new law will require buyers to buy drugs from multiple suppliers, including more expensive ones, to make supplies more reliable. Recently the Netherlands introduced a law Sellers are required to keep six weeks of stock to cover the shortfall, and Sweden The government is proposing similar rules.

At a more broad level, a committee led by the EU’s medicines regulator, The European Medicines Agency (EMA), has recommended that rules should be loosened to allow pharmacies to dispense tablets or individual doses of the drug . other measures, In Germany, the president of the German Medical Association went so far as to call To create an informal “flea market” for drugs, where people could give away their unused drugs to patients who needed them. and in France And GermanyPharmacists have started producing their own medicines – although given the extent of the shortage it is unlikely to make a big difference.

Can the EU fix it?

In theory, the EU should be more prepared than To deal with the block-wide crisis. It recently upgraded its legislation to deal with health threats, including shortages of pharmaceuticals. EMA is given extended powers To monitor drug shortages. and a new body, the Health Emergency Preparedness and Response Authority (HERA) Installed with the power to go to the market and buy medicines for the entire block.

But, this is not happening yet. to act at least for Hera Four EU countries are required to sign up to a purchasing programme, but no country has yet asked to activate the process, an EU spokesman said. This is perhaps not surprising. Efforts to coordinate purchases of less expensive non-branded drugs during the pandemic were so slow and bureaucratic that countries abandoned the effort, preferring to make their own purchases on the open market.

A European Medicines Agency working group on the shortage could decide on thursday Whether to recommend that the commission declare a shortage of the drug a “major event” – an official label that will trigger some (limited) EU-wide action. An EMA steering group for shortages would have the power to request data on drug stocks and production capacity from suppliers and issue recommendations on how to reduce shortages.

But not everyone agrees it’s that bad yet.

In an appearance before the European Parliament’s health committee, the commission’s top health official, Sandra Gallina, said she wanted to “dismiss a bit the idea that there is a huge shortage,” and added that alternative medicines are available to use.

And others believe the situation will get better with time. “I think it will get better on its own, but it depends on the extreme of the infection,” said Adrian van den Hoven, director general of the generic medicines lobby Medicines for Europe. “If we’ve peaked, supply will quickly catch up. If not, it’s probably not a good situation.”

Helen Collis and Sarah-Taisir Bencheriff contributed reporting.