Ministry to increase drug production amid shortage

ANKARA 

The Health Ministry has reached an agreement with drug manufacturers to increase the production of drugs that are difficult to supply, the minister has announced amid the shortage of drugs experienced by pharmacies across the country.

“The difficulty in supplying some drugs is due to the problem of raw materials originating from abroad. Our pharmaceutical companies are ready to take action to purchase raw materials,” Fahrettin Koca tweeted.

The ministry has reached an agreement with drug manufacturers to boost the production of the drugs that are difficult to obtain, he pointed out.

A shortage of drugs from December to February occurs every year due to numerous firms that stop supplying drugs in the market until the new prices are determined before the New Year.

Decreased drug production due to no more active ingredient coming from China, which meets 98 percent of the needs of the domestic pharmaceutical industry, the use of too many antibiotics during the pandemic and the drug needs of foreign nationals in the country are among the reasons behind the shortage, according to sector representatives.

The increase in many expenditures from the raw material to the bottle and packaging of the drug, as they are foreign exchange-based, also contribute to the problem, they say.

New exchange rate regulations for manufacturers, suspension of the export of rare drugs for a while and reliable conditions for the purchase of pharmaceutical raw materials were some of the solutions Koca listed to control the drug shortage.

He also noted the export of drugs that are rare in the market has been suspended until the problem is solved.