The country is experiencing a critical shortage of 1,242 active subjects. They are intended for most diseases against arterial hypertension, mental disorders and pain, and even in those that are completely supplied as drugs against HIV, as indicated by the Colombian Association of Comprehensive Medicine Companies (Acemi). Invima has revealed that around 50 drugs are not available for sale due to shortages.
This situation is not unique to this year. Since mid-2022, the union warned of the crisis, according to records and data collected, will supply problems, since then at least half of the reports and the situation have been controlled only in 15% of cases. With this, the union considered this can be worse.
Last year, the pharmaceutical cluster of the Bogotá Chamber of Commerce sent a letter to the Ministry of Health about the situation. Then they stated that acetaminophen (oral and injectable), amoxicillin, diclofenac, diripidone, esomeprazole, losartan, calcium carbonate and potassium chloride were needed. At the time, there were no reports of official shortages, nor of “non-production” support from (pharmaceutical) manufacturers.
They also noted that “to produce drugs in the commercial channel (medicine), but no drugs reach the so-called institutional channel (whose hospitals and EPS sites are partially dispensed), the cluster is developed.
From the Ministry of Health, 10 specific working groups have been developed for certain groups of drugs or other situations that could affect their supply. According to the service, some of the reasons are increased demands, restrictions by brands or manufacturers in contracting between EPS and employers, non-timely delivery of orders to agents, ongoing procedures in Invima, problems with the acquisition of raw materials, loss of interest. the industry in the trade some cheap but necessary products for health care, as well as commercial problems between manufacturers and distributors and the lack of brands of some traders, but the ability on the market of drugs with the same composition.
For Invima, in official communications, it has placed in a safe place the consolidated supply updated to February 28, 2023, in which the current state of availability of several drugs is mentioned.
Some of those monitored are Paracetamol, 250mg of naproxen, 25mg and 1mg of iron sulfate, magnesium sulfate, among others. According to Invima there are 33 drugs that are not classified.
