UK industry reminded of its supply obligations
pharmafile | November 25, 2009 | News story | Manufacturing and Production |Â Â supply chainÂ
UK pharma trade bodies, including the ABPI, have agreed a set of guidelines intended to address problems in supplying branded medicines.
The guidance, “Trading Medicines for Human Use: Shortages and Supply Chain Obligations”, in effect amounts to a reiteration of existing legislation.
Various factors, including a weak pound and strong euro have resulted in great demand for UK medicines both from UK pharmacies and internationally.
However, the relative cheapness of prices here means medicines intended for UK patients have been diverted for export.
“The current situation cannot be allowed to continue,” said ABPI commercial director David Fisher.
“The ongoing diversion of UK stock into Europe is causing real difficulties for patients, pharmacists and industry.”
Legal and ethical codes bind manufacturers and wholesalers, as well as doctors and pharmacists, which are all obliged to meet UK patients’ needs.
The representative bodies of all parties in the UK supply chain – including the British Association of Pharmaceutical Wholesalers, the Department of Health and the GP Committee of the British Medical Association – have put their voices behind these codes, saying they will “endorse and support” them.
The guidance concludes by asking all parties “to bear in mind their obligations” and to be aware of the consequences of exporting medicines intended for the supply of UK patients.
“People’s responsibilities are now crystal clear: they must put the UK patient first,” added Fisher.
The move was welcomed by another signatory, the Pharmaceutical Services Negotiating Committee (PSNC).
The organisation speaks for community pharmacies in England and Wales on NHS issues and its chief executive Sue Sharpe said: “The clarification of the legal and ethical position is helpful for all.”
In September a survey found that industry supply chain controls in the UK have made medicines more difficult to source and have put patients risk, with Roche’s Xenical and Lilly’s Zyprexa the most difficult to obtain.
In the poll by Chemist + Druggist magazine, 78% of pharmacists surveyed said it has been harder to get hold of products from manufacturers running wholesaler distribution models.
Nearly a third said patients had suffered because of shortages in some branded medicines, with panic attacks and even hospital admittance the result of drugs not being available.
In a separate move, UCB has appointed AAH Pharmaceuticals, Alliance Healthcare and Phoenix Healthcare as its UK distributors.
Reducing the number of wholesalers that UCB uses is intended to improve the availability of its medicines, the manufacturer says.
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