24 February 2022 08:58 am Views - 1586
A massive drug shortage is imminent as the existing backup stocks of medicines are due to be used up within three months, the All-Island Private Pharmacy Owners’ Association (ACPPOA) President Chandika Gankanda said.
He told the Daily Mirror that the country has a 5% shortage of required medicine stocks.
“Medications are labeled with different identification bands. Most of the pharmacies used to give alternative brands for the consumers as the requested brands were out of stock. With the current backup stocks, this practice cannot be sustained for long,” Chandika said.
“With the current dollar crisis in the country, the manufacturers and importers cannot manufacture or import the required medicine stocks as they are higher in price. If some of the drugs they import are subjected to a price control imposed on several drugs, they cannot sell them in the local market. Most of the drugs are sold at controlled prices,” he added.
He further said that if the shortage continues, there would be a possibility of a shortage of insulin (medication) as well. Most of the local drug manufacturing companies used to keep stocks that were sufficient for three months But now this has been used up.
Manufacturing plants that used to manufacture certain products in the country have slowed due to higher raw material import costs.
If the government cannot remove the control price on certain drugs, they should introduce a price formula that fluctuates according to the dollar rate, Chandika said.
Accordingly, most of the popular drugs, including paracetamol, Panadol, Panadeine, Frisium, normal saline and zinnat are likely to go out of stock soon. The country is already facing a shortage of antibiotic syrups given to children.
Chandika said the demand for paracetamol pills has increased not because of the triple threat of Omicron, dengue, and viral flu in society, but because of not having a sufficient supply.
A list of district wise drug shortages follow:
Paracetamol, Panadol, Panadeine, Nitrofurantoin, Nitrocontin, Norfloxacin, Magnesium sulphate (powder), Manorest, Oxetol, Phenobarbital, Frisium 10mg (keolax), Normal saline, Amikacin injection, 300, Azee 500mg, Zinnat 500mg, 250mg Tolbutamide, Minipress XL, TNT.