Medicines: lack of medicines: Lauterbach for a quick decision

In view of the shortage of medicines, Federal Minister of Health Karl Lauterbach is counting on a speedy resolution of the law to combat bottlenecks, which was initiated by the traffic light. “I have to point out that these problems have been known for ten years, and nothing much has ever been done. Now we got a law through the cabinet very quickly, and I’m quite sure that our colleagues in Parliament will also pass this law quickly “Said the SPD politician on Tuesday to the German Press Agency in Berlin. That has to be quick now.

The cabinet had passed the so-called Medicines Supply Bottleneck Combating and Supply Improvement Act at the beginning of April. But it still has to go through the Bundestag and Bundesrat. It is intended to enable manufacturers to charge higher sales prices for children’s medicines in Germany, so that deliveries to Germany are more worthwhile. In principle, there is also an obligation to store important medicines for several months. And in the case of antibiotics, manufacturers who produce active ingredients in Europe should be given a greater say.

Pediatricians in several European countries appealed to politicians to do something about the poor supply situation. Recently, not only fever juices were scarce, but also antibiotics. According to the German Foundation for Patient Protection, there are also problems with blood fat-lowering drugs, blood pressure drugs and even cancer drugs.

Several federal states are already relaxing the import rules for antibiotic juices for children. The basis for this is a supply shortage officially identified by the Ministry of Health last week. It is about the import of products that are not approved or registered in Germany. Lauterbach spoke of “emergency measures” on Monday. “The process shows, however, that the law does not come too early.”