All types of medicines are now affected by shortages, according to the president of pharmaSuisse, the Swiss pharmacists association.
Martine Ruggli-Ducrot called for swift action to address the shortage of medicine, in an interview published in Le Temps newspaper on Monday.
“Whether it’s anti-diabetes drugs, high blood pressure remedies, opioids or antibiotics, they’re all affected,” she said.
There is also a problem with packaging materials, such as glass bottles and vials, which are mainly produced in Ukraine, Ruggli-Ducrot added. She said some Swiss pharma companies were giving up marketing medicines that they feel are too expensive to produce.
The president of pharmaSuisse called for cooperation with the European Union.
“It is essential to diversify continental production to enable Europe to be more autonomous in the event of supply chain problems,” she said, pointing out that the active ingredients needed to manufacture medicines were very often produced in Asia.
“It is this high concentration that makes the whole system vulnerable,” she said.
It is definitely not pure capitalism in play here: The federal health department fixes the price for both brands and generics – the latter has to be priced at least 20% below the brand product for consumers to be reimbursed by their insurance company. Every few years, the government revisits the price difference, and typically adjusts the price downwards in a move to lower healthcare costs.