Skip to content

This Site is Intended for Healthcare Professionals Only

Search AI Powered

Latest Stories

EU plans changes to pharmaceuticals law to avoid medicine shortages

Proposed changes to a European Union pharmaceuticals law will include stronger obligations for the supply of medicines and earlier notifications of shortages, EU Health Commissioner Stella Kyriakides said last week (January 17).

Kyriakides told a session of the European Parliament that shortages of antibiotics are a growing problem for many European countries. She said the European Commission's proposal to revise the pharmaceuticals legislation is planned for March.


"Our objective is and remains to secure access to medicines for all patients in need and to avoid any market disruption of medicines in the EU," Kyriakides said.

Shortages of antibiotics have been reported in 26 European countries, the European Medicines Agency says.

The unseasonably early upsurge in respiratory infections in Europe this winter and insufficient production capacity are the root causes of the shortages, Kyriakides said.

Numerous EU lawmakers speaking at the session said the shortages needed to be tackled urgently. But experts say shortages of essential generic medicines like antibiotics are likely to be recurrent in Europe due to problems in the sector such as the gradual migration of generic manufacturing to Asia.

Kyriakides said the EU is deploying all regulatory options and talking to companies to increase production and mitigate shortages.

She added that the Health Emergency Preparedness and Response Authority (HERA), the EU health crisis body established during the COVID-19 pandemic, could procure medicines and medical supplies on behalf of member states to address shortages.

More For You

A woman using a period tracker app

Cambridge University academics have flagged concerns over the safety of period tracker apps

Pic credit: iStock

Users of period tracking apps face privacy, safety risk, say experts

The report said the apps provide a "gold mine" of data for consumer profiling and warn that in the wrong hands it could pose a safety risk

CAMBRIDGE UNIVERSITY academics have flagged concerns over the safety of period tracker apps and warned that the women using them could face privacy and safety risks.

Keep ReadingShow less
Patients to get test results via NHS app

An investment of £50m has been made to upgrade the NHS app

Patients to get test results via NHS app

Millions of patients will now be able to access test results and get appointment reminders on their smartphones as the government tries to position the NHS app as the default mode of communication and steer away from traditional methods like letters.

An investment of £50m has been made to upgrade the NHS app and the health service hopes to save £200m over the next three years.

Keep ReadingShow less
Health minister assures House of Lords on measures to tackle UK-wide Creon drug shortage

Baroness Merron

Government taking steps to mitigate shortage of cancer drug Creon

Baroness Merron on Monday (9) assured the House of Lords that the government is taking measures to mitigate the shortage of pancreatic cancer drug Creon across the country.

Raising the issue, Baroness Margaret Ritchie wanted to know about the steps being taken by the government to ease the misery of patients suffering from pancreatic cancer.

Keep ReadingShow less
Janet Morrison: "Eventual outcome of spending review needs to tackle pharmacy underfunding"

Janet Morrison

Janet Morrison: "Eventual outcome of spending review needs to tackle pharmacy underfunding"

Community Pharmacy England (CPE) chief executive Janet Morrison has welcomed chancellor Rachel Reeves announcement today that day-to-day spending on the NHS will increase by £29bn a year but insisted that it must reflect in securing the future of pharmacy.

Reeves also revealed that the government will be increasing the NHS technology budget by almost 50 per cent, with £10bn of investment to "bring our analogue health system into the digital age, including through the NHS app".

Keep ReadingShow less
Lynsey Cleland named GPhC chief standards officer

Lynsey Cleland

Pic credit: X

Lynsey Cleland named GPhC chief standards officer

The General Pharmaceutical Council (GPhC) has brought back Lynsey Cleland to lead on a number of important departments in the role of chief standards officer.

Cleland had previously held a number of senior positions at GPhC, including director of Scotland.

Keep ReadingShow less