Drug shortages: “Nine multinationals are being checked, to see if they have the stocks they need” Pleuris said

Nine multinationals are being auditedon whether they have the stocks they need, in order to supply the Greek market, said the Minister of Health Thanos Pleuris, from the floor of the Parliament, answering a topical question of MeRA25 MP Kriton Arsenis, about the shortage of medicines.

Referring to the measures to prevent the parallel exportsthe health minister said that in November a broad ban was imposed, “it is the first time that the ban is indefinite. Controls have been carried out and pharmacies have been closed.” The issue is global and has to do with a lack of raw materials, he said and urged the deputy to investigate what is currently being done in Germany, England, France, America, “in countries that have very expensive medicine, from Greece” .

In some of these countries, said the Minister of Health, there is a ceiling, they cannot sell paracetamol from the internet and they give permission to doctors to make the medicines in the pharmacy”.

In Greece, said Mr. Pleuris, there is no corresponding situation, because measures have been taken since the summer and because Greece is fortunate to have a strong pharmaceutical industry. He mentioned in particular, the establishment of a ceiling on the clawback, for medicines up to 5 euros – antibiotics, paracetamol – with the aim of remaining on the Greek market.

“We have closed budgets, so that the multinationals pay mainly with the expensive drugs, a much bigger clawback than the other companies who have the cheap expensive drugs. Therefore, since the summer we took measures, because we knew the situation that will exist, with the lack of raw materials”, said the Minister of Health and added that 25 out of 27 countries in the EU are facing a drug problem.

In relation to the drugs for the outbreak of viruses, he pointed out that the condition is treated with a series of generics. However, he recognized that there are drugs that are directly imported, such as inhaled drugs, which are more difficult to normalize the situation, but “today, the situation on the market is much better, compared to the situation 10 days ago”, because in consultation with the Greek pharmaceutical industry, “there is a large production increase in generics” and at the same time IFET has made imports and supplies the market.

MeRA25 Member of Parliament Kriton Arsenis said that drug shortages have reached tragic proportions, there are 232 drugs in short supply or not available at all in pharmacies, they are inhaled drugs, they are first aid drugs but the government does not take measures in practice, does not carry out checks and essence is also proceeding with the privatization of IFET in order to further favor the pharmaceutical warehouses.

“You have a policy, not to solve the problems of the parents, not for the patients but to further favor the pharmacies,” said Mr. Arsenis who argued that the list of drugs announced by the EOF is the definition of sloppiness, not covers all the active substances of the preparations that are in short supply, there are cases where alternative preparations are proposed which are also in short supply. Especially for the checks on the pharmaceutical warehouses, the MP said that they were given time to complete their exports.

The Minister of Health insisted that drug shortages related to parallel exports have now normalized to 92% and there is no normalization where there are no drugs because it is a global problem.

In relation to the treatment of infections, the Minister of Health said that electronic prescribing made it possible to monitor the demand for drugs, was imposed on antibiotics, before the shortage, and will be extended to all drugs.

The image of normalization described by the Minister of Health was not accepted by Kriton Arsenis who cited what pharmacies complain that the measures are ineffective. As for the temporary ban on parallel exports, Mr. Arsenis said that before its implementation, time had been given to allow them to complete exports.

“When a ban is imposed, obviously two or three days are given, because invoices may have been cut, payments may have been made. It only concerns these cases,” said the Minister of Health, noting that Greece has the largest export ban ever made on medicines and with an indefinite ban period. He also pointed out that all trade union bodies have agreed that the measures are in the right direction.

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