HANNOVER (dpa-AFX) - From the point of view of the Lower Saxony State Pharmacists' Association, the supply of many important drugs remains difficult. As of the end of last week, the list of supply bottlenecks from the Federal Institute for Drugs and Medical Devices showed around 1,000 unavailable drugs, including around 460 prescription drugs, said Mathias Grau, deputy chairman of the board of the State Pharmacists' Association, in Hannover. The "Nordwest-Zeitung" and the "Neue Osnabrücker Zeitung" had reported on this earlier.
According to Grau, the active ingredient atorvastatin, a cholesterol-lowering drug used in stroke therapy and prophylaxis, is particularly in short supply. There are also delivery problems with Azithromycin, an active ingredient used to treat pneumonia. Similarly, the newly used drugs to combat the RS virus are very difficult to obtain. In addition, combination preparations for the treatment of conjunctivitis are missing.
Disrupted supply chains
According to Grau, the supply bottlenecks are currently just as severe as they will be in 2022, the year of the coronavirus. At that time, 520 prescription drugs were unavailable, he told the newspapers. According to him, the reasons for the bottlenecks include the disrupted supply chains to Asia, but also exclusive contracts between health insurance companies and some pharmaceutical manufacturers. "If a batch is canceled, there are often not enough competitors to compensate," he said.
Grau assured that patient care is guaranteed in any case. If no substitute is available, a change in therapy will be discussed with the doctor. However, this is very rare. The additional work for pharmacies is not remunerated./eks/DP/men