Vienna (OTS) – The pharmaceutical industry is required to increase its stocks of critical medicines: it must stockpile around 700 important medicines to last four months. In addition to medicines for cold symptoms, these also include painkillers and antibiotics. The European Commission has approved the Ministry of Health’s corresponding stockpiling regulation. It will be announced in Austria today. “We are thus ensuring that there will be no supply shortages in winter,” stresses Health Minister Johannes Rauch. ***
Drug supply bottlenecks have led to a tense situation across Europe in recent years. The supply of the Austrian population was ensured with a bundle of short-term measures. Among other things, a drug warehouse for critical drugs was set up and the magistral preparation of drugs by pharmacies was made easier.
As a next important step, the pharmaceutical industry will now be required to significantly increase its stocks. The Ministry of Health’s stockpiling regulations will be announced today – after they have been approved by the European Commission. They define around 700 critical medicines, of which four months’ supply must be stored. These include painkillers, antibiotics, medicines for cold symptoms, but also preparations for chronic cardiovascular or lung diseases. The warehouses will be filled in the coming months so that the medicines will be available this winter. The industry has ten months to reach full stock levels.
“Last winter, we were able to ensure the best possible supply of medicines in Austria through short-term measures. By committing to higher stocks, supply bottlenecks for important medicines should finally be a thing of the past,” says Health Minister Johannes Rauch. “In the long term, we need a European solution that protects all member states equally. I will continue to demand this in Brussels.”
The stockpiling regulation was developed together with all relevant system partners in a task force of the Ministry of Health. The costs incurred by the pharmaceutical industry due to the increased stockpiling of medicines can be reimbursed by the Federal Office for Safety in Health Care (BASG) upon application.
Inquiries & Contact:
Federal Ministry of Social Affairs, Health, Care and Consumer Protection (BMSGPK)
press officer@sozialministerium.at
sozialministerium.at
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