U.K. Drug Shortages ‘Worse Than Ever’ As Brexit Continues To Bite

Pharmacist holding medicine box and capsule pack in pharmacy drugstore. British pharmacists are struggling to get their hands on certain medicines for cancer, epilepsy, diabetes and menopause as drug supply issues intensify in the country. The number of drug products in short supply nearly doubled from start of 2022 to the end of last year, data obtained by the British Generic Manufacturers Association show.

Around 50 drugs were on a shortage list kept by the government in January 2022, compared with nearly 100 in mid December 2023. Short supplies can leave patients travelling from pharmacy to pharmacy in search of stock. In some cases, it can even cause disruptions and delays to their treatment. Janet Morrison, who leads Community Pharmacy England, told the Guardian that pharmacists were finding it harder than ever before to secure supplies of certain drugs.

The newspaper published the BGMA’s findings on Sunday. “Pharmacy teams have been struggling to get hold of prescription medicines for many months but the problem is now worse than ever,” she said. “It has become worryingly normal to see hundreds of medicines affected by pricing and other issues every month, with problems now a daily occurrence for pharmacies.

Pharmacies are having to spend hours — on average an extra 11 hours a week —tracking down the medicines their patients need.” Several drug shortages have made headlines over the last year, including low supplies of Type 2 diabetes drug Ozempic , shortages of which have been reported around the world as manufacturers struggle to keep up with demand.

Global supply chain issues and the war in Ukraine have squeezed drug supplies across Europe, with the lingering impact of Brexit leaving the U.K. worse off than its neighbors, the Guardian suggested. “For the UK, this situation has been exacerbated by pressures on drug prices from 2016, probably associated with the Brexit referendum pulling down the value of sterling,” said Mark Dayan, Brexit programme lead for think tank the Nuffield Trust.

He added that a scheme designed to save the health system money may also have made selling branded drugs less attractive in the country. “In the last two years, being outside the single market has added costs at the border with the EU, resulting in a drop in products passing into this country,” he told the Guardian .

Last fall the government listed 111 drug products on the U.K.’s shortage list — the highest number ever reported. Martin McKee, professor of European public health at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, told the British Medical Journal at the time: “Every country has been hit by supply chain disruptions, due to covid and geopolitics, but, as with most other walks of life, Brexit adds to the problems.” On Sunday, a spokesperson from the country’s Department of Health and Social Care said that spikes in demand, manufacturing problems and other issues could affect the supply of drugs.

“The department has well established procedures to deal with such issues and works closely with industry, the National Health Service and others to prevent shortages, and resolve any problems as soon as they arise,” the spokesperson told the Guardian ..