Medicines shortages: root causes and potential solutions

Medicines shortages are a significant cause of concern for patients, clinicians and our public health. They impact on patients’ health outcomes by causing delays in treatment or forcing changes in treatment regimes, as well as inducing a great deal of stress and worry to patients and their families, states a website posting by the European Federation of Pharmaceutical Industries and Associations (EFPIA).

The European associations representing manufacturers of vaccines and medicines, parallel distributors, pharmaceutical full-line wholesalers and industrial pharmacists are committed to working with the European Union and member states to progress short term and longer term solutions addressing the root causes of medicines shortages that occur across Europe.

The root causes of medicines shortages include manufacturing, quality, economic, and supply chain issues. The associations are committed to stepping up efforts to prevent and to mitigate medicines shortages. As a group, they believe that the root causes of shortages can be addressed by a set of short term and longer term solutions including harmonizing data and monitoring medicines shortages at EU level, creating regulatory incentives for essential low-priced medicines, allowing regulatory flexibility and improved regulatory efficiency to mitigate shortages, and ensuring market stability and sustainability.