Shortages have occurred in the supply of pharmaceuticals. The FOPH has therefore taken various targeted measures to strengthen care in the short term. These adjustments complement the measures that have already been initiated to strengthen supply security in the long term.
Supply shortages of medicines are increasing worldwide, including in Switzerland. In recent months, the situation has worsened. There are many reasons for this: concentration of production at a small number of sites, insufficient production capacity to meet rising demand at short notice, complexity of production, quality problems in the manufacture of active ingredients, low inventory levels and high market access requirements.
In order to strengthen the care of the Swiss population, the FOPH has already taken various measures. This includes, for example, facilitating the dispensing and reimbursement of alternative products. To this end, the FOPH ensured at the beginning of the year that medicines produced by pharmacies themselves due to supply shortages would be reimbursed by health insurers. This concerns, for example, the production of a children’s syrup for pain treatment. In addition, the administrative burden of importing medicines to replace Swiss medicines with supply shortages is to be reduced, as cost approvals are no longer required.
Waiver of price reductions
In addition, in order to ensure supply, price reductions are waived for vital and inexpensive products as an exception and in justified cases as part of the regular review of drug prices. This is because, in addition to other factors that can lead to supply disruptions (e.g., the size of the Swiss market), price reductions can also lead to vital drugs such as antibiotics being withdrawn from the Swiss market due to a lack of profitability. Similarly, the FOPH has decided to increase the prices of such medicines in order to guarantee the supply of the Swiss population.
Ensuring supply in the long term
In order to strengthen the supply in the long term, the FOPH and the Federal Office for National Economic Supply (FONES) are concretizing the measures proposed to the Federal Council with the 2022 Supply Report. These include, for example, the monitoring of the supply situation, the expansion of compulsory stockpiling, possible incentive systems or facilitation of licensing and import. In view of the global difficulties in the supply of medicines, approaches to solutions by other countries and participation in international initiatives are also being examined.
Source: «BAG stärkt Arzneimittelversorgung», 22.03.2023, Bundesamt für Gesundheit BAG
InFo NEUROLOGIE & PSYCHIATRIE 2023; 21(2): 40
InFo ONKOLOGIE & HÄMATOLOGIE 2023; 11(2): 40
