E-DRUG: FIP: Medicines Shortages
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Dear All,
In June 2013, the International Pharmaceutical Federation (FIP, which is the world pharmacists organisation) organised an International Summit on Medicines Shortage in Toronto, Canada.
The purpose of the Summit was to provide a forum to discuss the causes and contributing factors, impacts, and solutions to the global issue of medicines shortages through a multi-stakeholder approach involving representatives from governments, healthcare practitioners and professional bodies, industry, and patients.
This Summit gathered evidence that the characteristics of medicines shortages vary greatly from country to country. The causes and contributing factors to medicines shortages is multidimensional, and can best be examined by addressing the issue from the both the demand side (predictability of fluctuating demands both at national and international level, procurement practices), as well as the supply side (manufacturing incidents, regulatory activities impacting manufacturing, bottle-neck steps or single manufacturers, globalisation of manufacturing.).
Founded on this analysis, the Summit offered a number of recommendations and ideas for stakeholders to consider on how to reduce the occurrences of and reduce the impact of medicine shortages:
- Establish a publicly accessible means of providing information on medicines shortages (causes, expected resolution date, possible alternatives.);
- Develop a list of critical or vulnerable products aiming at identifying the products requiring more attention when discussion on medicine shortages is held and actions are thought ;
- Institute an active procurement process taking into account and promoting the continuity of supply of quality medicines;
- Modify regulatory practices to remove unnecessary variability of regulatory practices (between countries) and improve transparency;
- Establish or appoint a national body in charge of gathering and sharing information regarding medicines demand, supply and shortages and providing guidance;
- Develop evidence-based risk mitigation strategies which may include: stockpiles, contingency plans, pandemic planning, etc.
The report of the Summit is available at: http://www.fip.org/files/fip/publications/FIP_Summit_on_Medicines_Shortage.pdf
Best regards
Luc Besançon | General Secretary & CEO
International Pharmaceutical Federation (FIP)
Andries Bickerweg 5
PO Box: 84200
2508 AE, The Hague
The Netherlands
Luc Besancon <Luc@fip.org>