Panhellenic Association of Pharmacists: Pharmaceutical companies systematically undersupply the market

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What is the cause of drug shortages – What is the Panhellenic Association of Pharmacists asking for

Control in all three supply chains of the market medicines (pharmaceutical industry, pharmaceutical warehouses, pharmacies) and not the targeting of pharmaceutical warehouses for drug shortages, the Panhellenic Association of Pharmacists calls for, referring to “reduced quantities of drugs that are channeled into the market by pharmaceutical industries”.

The representatives of the Panhellenic Association of Pharmacists, president E. Markakis and g.y. Th. Skylakakis, during a press conference, referred to the current state of the pharmaceutical market, saying that it is gradually normalizing, mainly in antipyretics (paracetamol) and antitussive drugs. At the same time, the list posted by EOF seems to be starting to work and it seems that patients are turning to Greek generics in this therapeutic category. A problem continues to exist in inhaled and pediatric antibiotic syrups.

Due to drug shortages

The problem of shortages is pan-European due to problems in the supply chain, the representatives of the Panhellenic Association of Pharmacists said. The second most serious reason is “the undersupply of the market by certain companies that has been observed in the last 5 years”.

The representatives of the Panhellenic Association of Pharmacists have made public documents with the complaints they have sent to the EOF with notification to the Minister of Health, about nine pharmaceutical companies that “systematically undersupply the market, creating shortages and endangering public health”. They request “an immediate investigation by the EOF and the implementation of all necessary actions in order to stop this dangerous practice and to punish those who implement it”.

The representatives of the Panhellenic Association of Pharmacists also referred to the “parallel exports” of medicines, saying that it is a legal procedure and is carried out exclusively and only after the coverage of the internal market and in any case only concerns products whose export is permitted by the EOF.

Parallel exports, they said, are not the main reason for shortages, as the phenomenon of shortages is multifactorial. They talked about “illegal” exports, which are made from “stamped” pharmacies that do not belong to the Association, but also from pharmacies.

According to data presented, legal exports in 2021 were 400 million, reduced by 66.6% compared to exports 15 years ago. “Pharmacies do not refuse to be controlled, but they are the only controlled ones,” all the links of the drug market must be controlled, they emphasized. Finally, they request the establishment of mandatory, electronic prescriptions for all products on the positive compensation list.

RES-EMP

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