SHORTAGES
wITh mORE ThAN 70 PER CENT Of Uk PRESCRIPTIONS PERTAININg TO gENERIC mEDICINES, IT’S OBVIOUS ThAT ANy DISRUPTION TO ThE SUPPly ChAIN IS lIkEly TO CAUSE mAjOR PROBlEmS. BUT, SAy lOCAl PhARmACISTS, IT wAS SImPly A DISASTER wAITINg TO hAPPEN.
Drug shortages were always ‘inevitable’ I
t’s the main - if not only - topic of conversation in Northern Ireland’s community pharmacy at the
moment. from the Atlantic coast in the north to the border pharmacies in the south, community pharmacists are battling to ensure continuity of supply of medicines - generic medicines in particular - to their patients.
whilst there have been generic shortages in the past, the recent issues have been exacerbated by two generics companies failing inspections and subsequently having their export licences withdrawn.
Bristol laboratories was the first to have its manufacturing certification pulled after regulators found data reporting issues following an inspection of the company’s facility in luton in july. This was then followed by Dr Reddy’s laboratories failing a European gmP manufacturing inspection. The company was told that it wouldn’t be able to export to
12 - PhARmACy IN fOCUS
the European Union until it had cleared its next inspection.
The repercussions of not one, but two, manufacturers ‘disappearing’ from the generics landscape have been felt throughout the Uk. Portadown contractor, Turlough hamill, believes that the events at Bristol laboratories and Dr Reddy’s simply pushed a situation that was already teetering on the brink over the edge.
‘The intense financial pressures faced by pharmacies over the past number of years, with branded medicines being dispensed at a loss, and generic purchase profits subsidising this deficit, has left contractors in an increasingly vulnerable position,’ Turlough told Pif.
‘we’ve been subject to aggressive reimbursement reductions with Category m and other cuts. To survive, pharmacies have been forced to pursue more aggressive
purchasing, adopting models such as the tendering processes used in hospital purchasing.
Pharmacists have been used as a tool to drive down the cost of medicines over a number of years, with this proving very effective in some regards. As a mature market for generics, we now have among the lowest prices globally for medicines.
‘however, this comes with a significant caveat. There is a point
where it is no longer viable for manufacturers to produce a product within what is one of the most heavily-regulated industries. Strict gmP and gDP guidelines must be adhered to at all levels, from manufacturer to wholesaler and ultimately through to the supply to pharmacies. Pre-clawback prices for furosemide 40mg and Aspirin dispersible 75mg tablets were just 62p and 63p for a pack of 28 in the October Drug Tariff, less than the
Turlough Hamill
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