In Italy there are no longer more than 1,000 types of medicines

Fedaisf editorial staff

June 10, 2016

Dall’antibiotico Zimox al farmaco per gli stadi iniziali del Parkinson, l’elenco aggiornato dall’Aifa dei medicinali “scomparsI” dalle farmacie italiane

9 GIUGNO 2016 – Bussola Sanità

Some medicines I am unavailable in Italian pharmacies. Parkinson's, severe respiratory diseases, epilepsy, infections, rheumatoid arthritis, headaches, high cholesterol, pains of various kinds: there are so many problems that risk remaining unanswered or forcing patients to change treatment.

Difficult to quantify the people involved: according to data from the Italian Medicines Agency (Aifa), they are two million Italians who find out every year that their drug is not available. The phenomenon, which has become more pronounced in recent months, has now forced AIFA to draw up acomplete and updated list of missing drugs in our country.

THE LIST OF MISSING DRUGS

The list of medicines that Italian pharmacies lack, according to the latest updates from AIFA, is long and diversified: about 1,200 products. It includes for example the Zimox, a municipality antibiotic used to treat states of bacterial infection, caused by microorganisms that are sensitive to theamoxicillin.

Even the Valium, a tranquilizer for the treatment of anxiety states, has become practically unobtainable. as well as theHypnovel, the hypnotic drug used by anesthesiologists for sedation before surgery, and the Requip, belonging to the class of dopamine agonists effective in Parkinson's treatment therapyin the early stages of the disease.

Among the untraceable medicines, also the vaccine for children which protects, among other things, from diphtheria, tetanus, whooping cough and polio. Aifa has drawn up a complete list of missing drugs.

WHAT TO DO IF THE DRUG IS MISSING

To help limit the discomfort of the lack of medicines, the AIFA managers recommend making one reporting to the regional Pharmaceutical Services. “Abbiamo messo a punto l’elenco delle carenze, aggiornato ogni due settimane – ha dichiarato Domenico di Giorgio, direttore dell’Ufficio qualità dei prodotti dell’Aifa – per dare riscontri tempestivi ai cittadini, segnalare la natura del problema e i tempi previsti per una eventuale soluzione”

There is a lot of attention on the subject in Italy, so much so that in some cases, the insiders report, even emergency measures for particular situations. Nonostante questo “non si può imporre alle aziende – continua di Giorgio – di continuare una produzione, se hanno deciso di interromperla”.

BECAUSE SOME DRUGS ARE LACKING IN ITALY

The causes of the unavailability of some medicines in our country concern various fields. Some medicines are not found for production problems which may be related to awrong calculation of supplies for our country or a general slowdown at the industrial site.

But the "disappearance" of some drugs, reports AIFA, is also the fault of distribution difficulties, of corporate choices that prefer the sale of certain types of medicines because they are more profitable economically speaking, to the detriment of others.

AIFA. Medicine shortages