Germany’s pharmacists are warning of another wave of medicine shortages this coming winter. “We are once again going into this winter very poorly prepared. The issue of supply shortages in medicines has become a permanent problem in pharmacies,” said Thomas Preis, President of the Federal Association of German Pharmacists’ Associations, speaking to Bild am Sonntag. He added that those affected were not only pharmacies and doctors, “but first and foremost patients.”
Currently, more than 500 medicines are officially reported as being difficult to obtain, and in some cases there is even a “supply shortage,” Preis continued. Particularly affected are antibiotic syrups for children, the asthma medication salbutamol, as well as medicines for ADHD. For fever remedies, cold medications, and cough syrups, however, “supply is assured.”
Preis pointed to the reliance on production facilities outside of Europe as the main reason for the shortages. “Germany used to be the pharmacy of the world, now the pharmacy of the world is in China or India,” Preis criticized. “And if factories there experience production problems, it immediately affects supply in Europe and in Germany.”
In recent years, supply shortages have repeatedly occurred, with children’s medicines being especially affected. In June 2023, the Bundestag passed a law aimed at preventing such situations in the future. The reform is intended to reduce cost pressures on pharmaceutical manufacturers, making the sale of medicines in Germany more worthwhile. Under the law, price regulations for children’s medicines were relaxed, and fixed prices and rebate contracts abolished.
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