Last year, the Norwegian Medicines Agency received as many as 684 messages regarding the lack of drugs in pharmacies. The year 2019 started much worse, because so far there have been 363 such reports.
Norwegian pharmacies Record-breaking 2018
Last year turned out to be record-breaking for the Norwegian Medicines Agency. Never before have they received such a large number of reports of drug shortages in pharmacies. The year 2018 finally collected 684 such messages, but 2019 started much worse, because until now there have been 363 such messages from pharmacies.
Read also: The greatest health threats in 2019.
What is the reason for the lack of drugs?
The latest update from the Norwegian Medicines Agency reports that there are currently about 200 types of drugs missing in Norway. Medical Director Steinar Madsen of the Swedish Medicines Agency believes that 50% of drug shortages are due to manufacturing problems. In addition, other reasons include a lack of raw materials, mistakes in supply and demand, changes in the global market and low margins in the supply chain. Experts reassure that in a few cases of lack of drugs, they have appropriate substitutes.
