The European Commission has outlined a number of steps to improve the security of the medicines supply chain and help prevent or mitigate drug shortages.
Among the ideas being put forward is a “Critical Medicines Alliance” of stakeholders including the pharmaceutical industry, EU bodies and civil society organizations.
Action is also being planned on coordinating stockpiling of medicines across the EU member states, the use of regulatory flexibilities to deal with shortages, demand forecasting, and medicines procurement.
The European pharmaceutical industry body, EFPIA, welcomed the objectives outlined in the commission’s communication, but warned that any solutions should be “fit for purpose,” proportionate and workable, and should target the specific root causes of shortages.

EU Floats Raft Of Plans To Tackle ‘Critical’ Drug Shortages

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