In the 2023/24 cold season there were again shortages of certain medicines, the Austrian Medical Association (ÖAK) reported on Wednesday. Examples of this are the Covid drug Paxlovid and the flu vaccine. To improve the situation, politicians should bring production facilities to Europe and also to Austria.
There should be no “parallel exports” and the price difference must be brought under control, ÖAK President Johannes Steinhart said on Wednesday. “This obviously also requires fair prices for medicines.” Independence is important. This winter, warehouses for active ingredients have already been set up so that medicines can be manufactured in pharmacies. According to Steinhart, logistics are a challenge. With the expiration dates it is also “difficult to estimate what you actually keep.”
Storage of active ingredients not yet necessary
According to the medical association, storage of active ingredients has not yet been necessary. However, there were still shortages or supply bottlenecks when it came to medicines. The population is already getting used to it, so to speak, says ÖAK vice-chairman Edgar Wutscher. For example, there was a shortage of antihypertensive drugs, anticancer drugs, stomach protection and drugs used against diseases of the nervous system.
The Medical Association is still against prescribing active ingredients instead of prescribing certain medications. In any case, there is a “great need to act,” Steinhart said, looking ahead to the coming fall and winter. Approval for the establishment of European drug production came from the Association of the Austrian Pharmaceutical Industry (Pharmig).
Source: Krone
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