Drugs and conflict, Versace: concern about possible shortage of supplies
In recent days, the British Generic Manufacturers Association (Bgma) said that the availability of generic drugs is experiencing "unprecedented pressure" due to the impact of the conflict in Ukraine on the global logistics system.
Panorama Healthcare – 17 May 2022
The managing director of the association, Mark Samuels, underlined that “the impact of the problems of 
supply will be particularly heavy” for the NHS, the British health service. Is this a concrete and worrying alarm for our country as well? We asked Massimo Versace, country manager of Sun Pharma Italia, one of the world's largest manufacturers of generic drugs.
"The concern expressed by the BMA is authentic and acceptable, even if fortunately it does not express concrete critical issues regarding the availability of drugs to date", replies Versace, "I say this with respect for those who observe the drug system closely, which is AIFA and which certainly has all the most up-to-date data on the subject of availability. At the moment, our whole sector is observing the conflict in Ukraine with concern, on the one hand for a necessary human, democratic and social participation in what is happening, on the other for the possible repercussions on the supply of medicines throughout Europe”.
Can we better define the problems we might face?
The difficulties reported by the British of the Bgma concern logistics, procurement of finished products and also of active ingredients, given that the conflict is putting a strain on a part of the logistics corridors that usually allow goods - and specifically those precious and life-saving goods that are medicines - to circulate between Western Europe, Eastern Europe and Asia.
In the face of these concerns, how is the world of producers behaving?
I must say that the European association which brings together manufacturers of equivalent medicines, Medicines for Europe, already in March it issued a timely statement in which it underlined the need to ensure the presence of drugs precisely in the territories affected by the conflict, and thus suggested that international institutions take action to guarantee supply chains and the normal circulation of drugs.
These issues cannot be tackled independently: is there a circulation of information within the pharmaceutical sector? Who is the ultimate point of reference in the face of this type of problem?
As European companies, we are very attentive to the need for healthcare systems to be supplied with everything citizens need for their health needs. I am in almost continuous contact with the management of many other drug companies, both in Europe and in our country, and I can say that we are carefully monitoring everything that happens. Then, I repeat, we have an agency like Aifa which governs everything that may concern shortages and unavailability of drugs with attention and punctuality. We are certain that the Agency with its expertise is monitoring what is happening and will be able to best govern the future period where it can express those critical issues that can only be hypothesized today. Certainly all the companies present in Italy will give their contribution if necessary to ensure the continuous maintenance of the therapies. VC extension
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