Both the Swiss government and Swiss pharmacists’ associations have warned in the last few hours that the country is currently experiencing drug shortages due to problems in supply chains resulting from the consequences of the pandemic and the war in Ukraine.
This warning comes after the authorities were forced last March to release part of their opioid stockpile due to a lack of material.
The spokesman for the Austrian College of Pharmacists, Enea Martinelli, specifies that the «biggest problems are occurring with medicines for children, especially with fever-reducing syrups», although there is also a shortage of medicines «for blood pressure, psychiatry or Parkinson’s», in declarations reported Friday by the SRF channel.
Federal Health Minister Karl Lauterbach announced on Thursday a new law to resolve «bottlenecks» in the supply of active ingredients for medicines due to procurement problems that he blamed on the current law.
«Health insurance companies are forced to buy drugs and active ingredients where they are cheapest,» Lauterbach explained. «That’s why drug manufacturers often rely heavily on active ingredient suppliers in China,» he added.
«The problem is serious and has worsened in recent months to an unacceptable extent. The bill is urgently needed,» he lamented in statements to the Tagesschau broadcaster.
With the new law, the minister now wants to force health insurance companies to also buy from manufacturers that produce with more expensive active ingredients. «The solution lies in the diversification of purchases,» he explained.
