Drug shortages affecting hundreds of thousands of Britons will worsen over the next five years as manufacturers source their products from the UK to avoid government levies, a leading industry body has warned.
Medicines used to treat tuberculosis, bacterial infections, heart rhythm disorders, epilepsy, asthma, Crohn’s disease, Parkinson’s disease, severe and moderate pain, and anesthetics carry a risk of supply shortages.
Supply problems could even affect key cancer drugs, according to the British Generic Medicines Association (BGMA), the trade body whose members make most of the drugs used in the UK.
The warning follows a series of drug shortages last year: HRT, ADHD drugs, antibiotics and over-the-counter cold and flu drugs, which in some cases lasted for months.
According to the BGMA, there are currently supply problems with 102 medicines in the UK. But they warn the list is likely to expand over the next five years due to a little-known government levy introduced on manufacturers to curb NHS spending on drugs.
The voluntary Branded Medicines Pricing and Access Scheme (VPAS) is expected to add £37 million a year to the budgets of all 42 integrated health authorities in England over the next five years, according to BGMA analysis. I.
VPAS is a voluntary agreement between the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC), NHS England and the Association of the British Pharmaceutical Industry, which sets an annual cap on the total allowable value of sales of branded medicines to the NHS.
The limit increases at an agreed rate of 2 per cent per annum, and the percentage of drug revenue above the limit is returned to DHSC through a levy.
It decided to increase the proportion of sales subject to tax from 5.1 percent in 2021 to 26.5 percent – which could increase again from 2024, according to the BGMA.
The DHSC said the VPAS levy would save the NHS £7 billion by the end of this year, and thousands of NHS patients would benefit from dozens of new treatments for a range of conditions.
But the BGMA says it could worsen shortages in the supply of life-saving drugs to patients as unwilling manufacturers stop supplying the UK.
This was stated by Mark Samuels, CEO of BGMA. I: “One of the most important things that is rarely understood is that there are only a limited number of generic drugs available. [off-patent drugs] are produced around the world, meaning the UK competes with other countries to distribute the drug supply.
“Thanks to VPAS, which currently has a tax rate of 26.5 per cent, global multinationals are making rational decisions: if they want to make losses on products in the UK, they will move supplies to other countries. “
Experts say a number of other factors are contributing to widespread drug shortages in the UK. I.
Martin Sawyer, chief executive of the Healthcare Distributors Association, said shortages of raw materials, poor supply chain communications, periodic inconsistent deliveries to wholesalers and specific shortcomings at manufacturers all played a role.
“We believe that the vast majority of daily availability issues are caused by production issues during production, such as: B. Batch errors, export bans.” [a] Country of Origin API [active pharmaceutical ingredient] “for example, in China and India – regulatory failures at manufacturing sites or the UK’s inability to pay a competitive price for generic drug supplies, to name just a few,” he said.
Another reason for drug shortages is an increase in demand for some drugs, as was seen last year as primary care physicians and pharmacies struggled to keep up with the additional demand for doctor’s appointments and antibiotics due to high rates of strep infections A.
Manufacturers face the challenge of responding quickly to this increase, Samuels said.
“Ramping up production of the drug may take six to nine months. Active pharmaceutical ingredients are often complex molecules that must be carefully manufactured.”
In September, the DHSC issued a warning that three ADHD drugs were unavailable: methylphenidate, lisdexamfetamine and guanfacine. This is because the demand for medications to control the condition is growing and the number of ADHD diagnoses is increasing.
Henry Shelford, chief executive of ADHD UK, said the situation was “absolutely unprecedented for ADHD” and was a wake-up call for the government.
A DHSC spokesman said the company was “working intensively with manufacturers to increase UK supply and ensure continued access to ADHD medications for those who need them.”
The ADHD drug shortage is expected to be resolved by the end of the year, and the severe shortage protocol, a tool to ease supply problems, for the HRT drug Estradot is set to expire in November.
Raj Matharu, chairman of Community Pharmacy London, the representative body of community pharmacy owners, said pharmacists had adapted their approach to drug supply after shortages emerged locally during the Strep A outbreak.
“We [previously] I tried to maintain supplies for about six weeks. Now people tend to extend this to around eight or even ten weeks if they can afford it. But we shouldn’t do that,” Matharu said.
David Watson, director of the patient access service, which helps people book appointments and repeat prescriptions, said: “In recent years we have seen the UK become less profitable for business due to a combination of regulatory lags and slow uptake of medicines into the UK. bring new drugs to market,” new treatments, and deep discounts that the government requires companies to pay for brand-name drugs.”
As yet unpublished analysis from the BGMA shows that increasing drug shortages are inevitable due to a more volatile market due to fewer suppliers, potentially fewer supplies to the UK and product recalls.
“There is also a risk that limited access to preventative treatment may make people less able to cope with chronic conditions and more likely to require costly emergency hospital treatment, potentially leading to poorer patient outcomes,” the BGMA said.
Mr Samuels said: “More than 85 biologics will lose exclusivity over the next five years, including blockbuster products such as cancer drug Keytruda and wet macular product Eylea.”
“This represents a major savings opportunity for the NHS, but they will not be able to realize their savings potential as competition declines and fewer companies enter the market.”
Source: I News
I’m Raymond Molina, a professional writer and journalist with over 5 years of experience in the media industry. I currently work for 24 News Reporters, where I write for the health section of their news website. In my role, I am responsible for researching and writing stories on current health trends and issues. My articles are often seen as thought-provoking pieces that provide valuable insight into the state of society’s wellbeing.