VENICE. A number of specialty medicines have all but disappeared from the market. Widely consumed products, used in the treatment of pathologies such as hypertension, Parkinson's disease, depression, mycosis, anxiety; but also folic acid for pregnant women and contraceptive brands. The shortage has worsened to the point of prompting the Veneto Union of pharmacy owners - which has 1222 members - to sound the alarm, signaling the heavy setbacks to the detriment of patients. “The situation has been getting worse since last autumn and now it's really difficult to manage,” he says Marco Bacchini [in the picture], the president of Federfarma «what is happening in Veneto goes beyond what in technical jargon is defined as a "stock break", or rather a temporary absence of some medicine from the market. The current unavailability has been going on for too long and for too many drugs, creating great inconvenience for our clients". But how did this situation come about? The suspicion is that it is a speculative maneuver by the manufacturing companies, linked to the price differential existing on the European market. In other words, the distribution of some drugs – around forty the most requested – is cheaper in some countries than in Italy and the commercial choice of the multinational companies is to concentrate the supply where the price lists ensure greater profits. Example: a syrup – widespread – adopted by mothers to "relax" agitated children at an early age, has become unobtainable in our pharmacies but appears regularly in French ones: at double the price of our price list, however. Bacchini refrains from making accusations but insists on the criticality of the situation: «Unfortunately, pharmacists cannot put pressure on the manufacturing companies, even the distribution network is in great difficulty and is unable to satisfy the constant requests. Our task today is to be the voice of the patient who in many cases leaves the pharmacy without the medicine he needs. We can no longer accept it and we will do everything we can to resolve this situation." That's it. In an initial phase, Federfarma attempted to stem the problem by resorting - in agreement with the treating doctors - to similar and available products. In too many cases, however, the subrogation has proved impossible. Thus the Veneto Union sent a detailed report to the competent authorities - Ministry of Health, the Italian Medicines Agency (Aifa) and the Pharmaceutical Service of the Region - urging rapid intervention. Contacts have also been initiated with the manufacturers, which are currently unsuccessful.
Il Mattino Padua – 19/01/2011 – pag. 13
