(Reuters) – Proposed changes to an EU pharmaceuticals law will include stronger obligations for the supply of medicines and earlier notifications of shortages, the EU Health Commissioner said on Tuesday.
Stella Kyriakides told a session of the European Parliament that shortages of antibiotics are a growing problem for many European countries. She said the proposal to revise the pharmaceuticals legislation is planned for March.
“Our objective is and remains to secure access to medicines for all patients in need and to avoid any market disruption of medicines in the EU,” Kyriakides said.
Shortages of antibiotics have been reported in 26 European countries, the European Medicines Agency says. The unseasonably early upsurge in respiratory infections in Europe this winter and insufficient production capacity are the root causes of the shortages, Kyriakides said.
Kyriakides said the EU is deploying all regulatory options and talking to companies to increase production and mitigate shortages.
She added that the health Emergency Preparedness and Response Authority (HERA), the EU health crisis body established during the COVID-19 pandemic, could procure medicines and medical supplies on behalf of member states to address shortages.
(Reporting by Maggie Fick; Editing by Jon Boyle and David Goodman)
