Reform not to blame for drug shortage: generic companies

In a recent CanadianHealthcareNetwork (CHN) poll, an overwhelming number of respondents (97%) reported being affected by a shortage of generic drugs.

Some expressed frustration that drug companies have failed to provide an explanation for the shortages, while others blamed drug price reform for aggravating the situation.

In a recent statement, however, the Canadian Generic Pharmaceutical Association (CGPA) denied prescription drug shortages in Canada are the result of recent drug reforms in Ontario and other provinces.

There have been reports of shortages of both brand-name and generic drugs since early 2010, the association says.

Yet the Alberta price changes came into effect in April, and the Ontario government price changes did not come into effect until July.

Price decreases have also not come into effect in either B.C. or Quebec, it adds.

“While price changes can impact the profitability of certain products and may affect business decisions in the future, it is erroneous to attribute current shortages to price changes/reforms in the provinces,” Jeff Connell, CGPA’s director of public affairs told CHN.

CGPA president Jim Keon adds that the exact cause of the shortages is still unclear.

“Given the products named and the fact that shortages appear to be affecting the supply of both brand-name and generic prescription medicines, the cause of the recently reported shortages is not yet clear.”

Keon lists a number of other issues that could possibly be causing disruptions in the supply chain for generic and brand name prescription pharmaceutical products, including:

• world-wide shortages of the Active Pharmaceutical Ingredient (API) required to produce the products;
• changes to regulatory standards and requirements;
• production issues/problems for one or more manufacturers; and
• changes in production equipment/processes.

“For their part, generic pharmaceutical manufacturers are taking steps to address the shortages and expect that the situation will improve significantly over the coming weeks and months.”