In China, it produces many drugs for the German market. Because of the Corona-crisis, it could supply bottlenecks

more: A pharmacy in Chiasso, Switzerland photo: Reuters

BERLIN taz | The European medicine Agency EMA warns of supply bottlenecks with drugs by the Coronavirus. "The virus outbreak in China affects the production performance as well as stability of supply, mainly due to the closure of factories and transport routes," said an EMA spokesperson for the taz,"the world can lead to shortages of drugs".

Lots of ingredients for medicines are now produced in China and there especially in the Virus-affected area of Wuhan. The Bonn-based Federal Institute for drugs and medical devices (BfArM) that are solely produced in the catchment area of the metropolis active substances, for 19 drugs. "Based on the entire province of Hubei location are affected according to the current data, 153 medicine, with 64 medicines contain a supply of relevant classified drug," said the BfArM. The supply of relevant substances require a prescription, and are considered to be important for the population as a whole.

According to the European certificates database in the Central Chinese metropolis, among other things, ingredients such as cough-solver acetyl cysteine, the antipsychotic clozapine or the at Resuscitation, and severe shock States used the substance produces adrenaline. However, the BfArM limits: "Based on the currently available data, there are neither national nor European indicators in the short term, on a restriction or a Succumbing to the drug supply."

professionals do not look, however, only since the onset of the corona of a crisis is critical to the supply chains for medicines. "Supply shortages of medicines are, unfortunately, already for some time been a serious problem in everyday life in many pharmacies," complains Christian Splett of the Federal Union of German associations of Pharmacists. For cost reasons, the global drug production is concentrated now on a few farms in Asia. This leads to dependencies and to supply more and more frequently bottlenecks in Europe, Splett says. Antibiotics, for example, are increasingly being ordered in India. However, many of the local companies source their active ingredients and carrier substances, also from China.

Last week, the Bundestag adopted a law, according to which pharmaceutical companies can in the future be required to report their holdings to supply relevant medicinal products. This may improve the flow of information, a solution to the fundamental problem, however, is. And so the Federal Association of the calls of German associations of Pharmacists, that the production of active substances and medicinal products must take place for the local supply increasingly in the European Union.