RCOA president warns of shortages of unprofitable drugs

The president of the Royal College of Anaesthetists (RCOA) claims that there is a shortage of drugs in the UK that do not make enough profit for pharmaceutical companies.

The Sunday Herald reports that Dr Peter Simpson wrote about his concerns in a RCOA bulletin, highlighting the issue of difficulties with the supply of diamorphine in particular.

Dr Simpson claimed that profit margins for such drugs were so small that it was not worth companies producing them.

Chiron and Wockhardt UK produce the drug in the UK but since December last year it has been rationed by the NHS due to supply problems.

“Frustratingly, it seems inevitable that the commercial issues behind drug manufacturing and supply will continue to produce shortages from time to time,” said Dr Simpson.
He added that doctors, the NHS and the pharmaceutical industry would have to work together to overcome such shortages.

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