UK needs better warning systems for medicine shortages, says pharma body
Better early warning systems are needed to address medicines shortages before they impact patients, a report from the body representing pharmaceutical companies in the UK has concluded.
The Association of the British Pharmaceutical Industry (ABPI) said while most disruptions are successfully managed, the number of supply alerts has risen in recent years, and the system is under ‘sustained pressure’.
In the past year 264 medicines were monitored under shortage protocols, the report said and around 1-2% of disruptions are classified as critical.
The ABPI also called for better data sharing between the NHS, industry and government to improve forecasting of medicines availability.
It notes that for many patients, disruption to supply of medicines is not a single event but can end up being a cycle of switching medicines, re-stabilisation, with additional GP appointments and monitoring.
And shortages cause ‘significant operational challenges’ across GP practices, hospitals and community pharmacy, it added.
But it said on average shortages are resolved within 28 days, which ‘reflects the strength of the UK’s mitigation systems’.
The report said the Department of Health and Social Care’s portal for reporting medicines supply issues does not allow enough detail to be input about disruption causes.
This makes it harder to spot trends and issues with supply and to develop solutions, the report said.
Shortages of raw materials, manufacturing constraints, geopolitical instability and sudden surges in demand all increase the pressure on global supply chains, with the potential to affect patient access to medicines, the report added.
Disruptions are most common in generic medicines, which account for 75% of NHS prescriptions.
Shortages so far this year have included ramipril and co-codamol. It follows high profile supply issues pancreatic enzyme replacement therapy, HRT, and rheumatology, diabetes and epilepsy drugs.
The report highlighted as an example of real-world successful collaborations a pharmaceutical company which had identified a spike in demand for norethisterone during Ramadan, when some women used the medication to delay menstruation to allow fasting. The pattern was noted in 2023, so the company was able to adjust its forecasting for 2024.
In February, a report from the House of Lords warned that medicines shortages in the UK is a national security issue that should be given more priority.
Too often systems are putting in place reactive actions once a shortage has already happened, it found with DHSC providing little oversight or leadership.
Ross Maclagan, ABPI Head of Supply and Distribution Policy, said: ‘Medicines supply issues are very serious for patients, and our industry takes the security and resilience of supply chains extremely seriously.
‘Systems to manage supply were stress tested like never before during the pandemic, as well as by the recent conflicts in Ukraine and now the Middle East. ‘While the industry has met these challenges, global pressures are growing, and we cannot be complacent.’
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