Government joins with industry ‘to tackle supply problems’

The Department of Health has announced this week that the government is to join forces with the pharmaceutical industry in order to deal with difficulties in the supply of medicine in England.

It notes that the department, in conjunction with the Association of British Pharmaceutical Industry and the British Generic Manufacturers Association, has produced guidelines to guarantee enhanced collaboration in the event of any future unavoidable shortages in pharmaceuticals.

The guidelines include a recommendation that the department and each pharmaceutical firm appoint a person to the role of dealing with supply issues.

Additionally, the department calls on companies to formally set out their own procedures for such situations and warn the government if a predicted drug-shortage is likely to affect patient care.

Andy Burnham, health minister, commented that both industry and the government were dedicated to dealing with problems arising from a lack of drug supply.

“Thanks to the hard work of manufacturers, wholesalers and pharmacists, minor shortages often go unnoticed by patients and clinicians,” he said.

He added that it was hoped that the recently published guidelines would assist in efforts to minimise the effect of such incidents that may affect patient care.

Last month, the department noted that it may be financially prudent to prescribe lower-cost generic versions of drugs in appropriate circumstances, including the administration of statins to treat high cholesterol.