Every day, pharmacies receive new notifications that the supply of five to ten drugs to Israel is ceasing. This is according to David Papo, Chairman of the Pharmaceutical Association of Israel. He adds that the drugs reported to be in short supply in pharmacies include Paracetamol and Atofen, commonly used painkillers.
"The issue of drug shortages is worsening," Papo said. "Some of the missing drugs are critical and some less so. Sometimes there is a substitute for the drug and sometimes there isn't, or the substitute is not in the healthcare coverage and therefore the patient is forced to pay more out of their pocket.”
Among the medicines whose supply was stopped:
- Dermovate – an ointment for the treatment of skin infections such as eczema and psoriasis
- Atacand – a drug for the treatment of high blood pressure
- Anafranil – an antidepressant
- Dificlir – an antibiotic drug for the treatment of the bacterium Clostridium difficile, which causes intestinal infections
- Rodenal – a medicine for Parkinson's disease or to relieve side effects caused by certain psychiatric drugs
- Bactroban – an antibiotic ointment
- Amaryl – a medicine for the treatment of type 2 diabetes
- Tobrex – an antibiotic eye ointment
- Ritalin – a drug for attention and concentration disorders
- Triclonam – a drug to treat insomnia
- Trospium – a medicine for overactive bladder
- Norditropin – a medicine to treat growth failure in children and adults
Papo explained that the disruptions in the supply of medicines to Israel are caused by the effects of the pandemic, the war in Ukraine, the global employment crisis, and the effect of the economic crisis on the international supply chains.
"As well, there are severe disruptions to the supply chain of medicines in Israel, due in part to a shortage of personnel, high distribution costs and other issues,” he said. “There is no doubt that without the immediate intervention of the Ministry of Health working with the suppliers and distributors to come up with solutions that can succeed in this challenging global economic situation, it is inevitable that this problem will only get worse.”
Papo pleaded for intervention from the Ministry of Health, who are responsible for regulating the supplies of the drugs, citing their responsibility to the public.
“During the pandemic, a CEO would require the pharmaceutical company to keep a minimum stock of medicine. The pandemic is over but the problem has not gone away,” he said.
“It is a global problem but more acute here,” Papo continued. “Israel is an island country. There are a lot of imports and relatively little production here in Israel.”
This article was translated from Hebrew by Rose Angela.
