EU concern over possible shortages in antibiotics

The European Health Emergency Response Authority (HERA) has issued recommendations to pharmaceutical companies to increase production of antibiotics used to treat respiratory infections ahead of winter in an effort to avoid a recurrence of shortages, especially of amoxicillin and amoxicillin/clavulanic acid. It also urged EU members not to hoard them at the expense of their general availability in Europe. 

Antibiotics shortages were intense last winter in Greece. However, the general secretary of the Panhellenic Pharmaceutical Association, Manolis Katsarakis, is optimistic things will be better this year following a decision by the National Organization for Medicines (EOF) to add antibiotics and respiratory preparations to the list of drugs that cannot be exported.

“The Greek market is thus shielded from outflows abroad of medicines that were planned to meet the needs of the country’s residents,” he said.