Drug export bans and stockpiling causing problems for globally-focused pharma distributors, says EFPIA
Decisions by individual European countries to ensure medicines availability during the COVID-19 pandemic are complicating international supply chains, industry association says
Drug export bans and stockpiling by individual European member states designed to boost domestic supply of essential medicines during the COVID-19 pandemic are causing problems for pharmaceutical companies who have multi-market distribution operations within those countries, the European Federation of Pharmaceutical Industries and Associations (EFPIA) has claimed.
Certain EU countries such as Belgium, Hungary and Portugal have instigated export bans and requisitioning of medicines to ensure medicines availability for their populations during the pandemic, which has so far caused over 170,000 deaths globally.
“Such export bans are particularly challenging for companies who have their multi-market distribution warehouses in those countries, from which they serve all of Europe, or even parts of Africa,” EFPIA said in a statement released Sunday.
The industry association said while it understood why member states wanted to protect domestic drug supply, it pointed out that the pharmaceutical supply chain is international and designed to work across borders.
“No one country can meet all its needs on its own, and through restrictions, countries risk isolating themselves and their citizens from the global supply network,” EFPIA said. “The consequences of export bans are directly detrimental to the availability of medicines for patients across the EU and globally, as well as risking retaliatory measures from other regions that could impact timely availability of medicines for European patients.”
EFPIA said there was also a need for EU member states to provide more information to forecast medicines demand in line with patients’ needs and a collaborative approach to support the continuation of clinical trials across Europe.
Earlier this month, the European Commission published guidelines on optimising medicines supply to avoid shortages during the COVID-19 outbreak, which EFPIA has welcomed. The Commission cited the importance of implementing green lanes to facilitate transport of medicinal products, raw materials, intermediates, active pharmaceutical ingredients, substances of human origin -- such as plasma -- and related materials such as packaging.
Related News
-
News Patients vs Pharma – who will the Inflation Reduction Act affect the most?
The Inflation Reduction Act brought in by the Biden administration in 2022 aims to give better and more equitable access to healthcare in the USA. However, pharma companies are now concerned about the other potential costs of such legislation. -
News CPHI Podcast Series: What does the changing US Pharma market mean for industry and patients alike?
In this week's episode of the CPHI Podcast Series Lucy Chard, Digital Editor for CPHI Online is joined by James Manser to discuss the political and market changes in the US pharma field. -
News CPHI Barcelona Annual Report illuminates industry trends for 2024
The CPHI Annual Survey comes into it’s 7th year to report on the predicted trends for 2024. Over 250 pharma executives were asked 35 questions, with their answers informing the industry landscape for the next year, spanning all major pharma marke... -
News Which 10 drugs are open to price negotiation with Medicare in the USA?
The Centres for Medicare & Medicaid Services, under the Biden administration in the USA, has released a list of the 10 drugs that will be open to price negotiations as part of the new legislation under the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA). -
News EU Medical Devices Regulation causes unintended disappearances of medical devices for children, doctors state
Doctor groups and associations have appealed to the EU to correct the EU Medical Devices Regulation law that may cause unintended shortages of essential drug and medical devices for children and rare disease patients. -
News 10 Major Drug Approvals So Far in 2023
Last year, 37 novel drugs were approved by the FDA, this was a high number for such a category, and covered many fields including oncology, demonstrating how promising further research is, and how it is only continuing to build. To date, there are alre... -
News Detecting Alzheimer's disease with a simple lateral flow test
A novel rapid diagnostic test for early-stage Alzheimer's disease has been developed using a biomarker binder from Aptamer Group along with technology from Neuro-Bio, the neurodegenerative disease experts. -
News CPHI Podcast Series: outsourcing and manufacturing trends
Listen to the CPHI Podcast Series this June to hear Gil Roth of the PBOA speak with Digital Editor Lucy Chard about the biggest trends and topics to watch in pharma outsourcing and manufacturing at the minute.
Position your company at the heart of the global Pharma industry with a CPHI Online membership
-
Your products and solutions visible to thousands of visitors within the largest Pharma marketplace
-
Generate high-quality, engaged leads for your business, all year round
-
Promote your business as the industry’s thought-leader by hosting your reports, brochures and videos within your profile
-
Your company’s profile boosted at all participating CPHI events
-
An easy-to-use platform with a detailed dashboard showing your leads and performance