Expert group to examine immediate measures
Federal government classifies drug bottleneck as “problematic”.
In Switzerland, the bottleneck in the supply of essential medicines has worsened. The federal government has reclassified the situation as “problematic”, as the Federal Council announced on Wednesday. A group of experts is to examine immediate measures.
Published: 27 minutes ago
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Updated: 8 minutes ago
The drug situation in Switzerland is coming to a head. (icon picture)
Switzerland has been missing vital medicines for months. And in recent weeks, the already tense drug supply situation has worsened. The state economic supply therefore informed the Federal Council on Wednesday that it had reclassified the situation as problematic.
The global shortage of antibiotics was massively aggravated by the corona pandemic and the production bottlenecks for the active ingredients caused by lockdowns, especially in China. This global problem and the currently strong and long-lasting wave of infections have also meant that demand in Switzerland can no longer be met.
Pharmacies and medical practices are now also affected
In addition, the supply disruptions no longer only affect the hospitals, but increasingly also pharmacies and medical practices. The increasing number of market withdrawals makes it difficult to replace affected drugs. According to the federal government, products with a monopoly character are increasingly affected.
The supply situation for pharmaceuticals has been steadily deteriorating for several years. This is illustrated by the statistics from the reporting office of the national economic supply: In 2022, the number of reports of bottlenecks increased by around nine percent compared to 2019, after a decrease during the two Covid years. In 2022, compulsory stocks were requested more than 150 times. This corresponds to a new high. In around 120 cases, the market was then supplied with goods from the compulsory stocks.
Confederation sets up task force
As a consequence of the aggravated situation, the National Economic Supply is examining several measures in consultation with the offices concerned, namely in the Department of the Interior (EDI) and the Department of Defence, Civil Protection and Sport (VBS).
The “Medication bottleneck” task force was set up as a short-term measure. It has already started its work and is concentrating on measures that can be implemented quickly and have immediate effect. However, medium and long-term measures are about detecting disruptions earlier and more broadly, facilitating their management and improving overall market conditions with the aim of having fewer disruptions. (sf)