• The French farmer who started roadblock protests in wake of father's suicide
• Farmer protests spread across the globe
• 69% of Germans support farmer protests, Latvia and Lithuania's farmers begin their own demonstrations
• 'The govt is trying to take our land': German farmers & truckers block major highways in huge protest over subsidies cut
• Dutch agriculture minister resigns after widespread farmer protests over government's sinister green agenda

• Feds spent more than $600K hiring influencers in 2021
• Which Media Benefitted From The Trudeau Government's Covid-19 Funds?
• Canada: Scores of unvaccinated workers are filing wrongful dismissal claims against employers, lawyers say
• 'It's absolutely appalling': Unvaccinated Canadians become social outcasts and the new persecuted minority
• Thousands of US intelligence officers refusing Covid-19 vaccine mandate risk being fired
• Dozens of top nuclear scientists with 'highest security clearances' being fired from Los Alamos Lab after vax mandate

NHS medicines shortage putting lives at risk, pharmacists warn

An unprecedented medicines shortage in the NHS is endangering lives, pharmacists have said, as unpublished figures reveal that the number of products in short supply has doubled in two years.

A treatment for controlling epileptic seizures was the latest to be added on Wednesday to a UK drugs shortage list that includes treatments for conditions ranging from cancer to schizophrenia and type 2 diabetes.

Causes of the crisis are thought to include the plummeting purchasing value of the pound since the Brexit referendum, which reduces the NHS's ability to source medicines abroad, and a government policy of taxing manufacturers.

Last year in Canada the excuse they gave for the lack of certain medications was that the Head office for procurement simply forgot to order enough...

One thing's for sure whatever the reasons are, they're effecting countries across the West, and governments appear to be doing very little to address them.

According to the British Generic Manufacturers Association, there were 111 drugs on a shortages list on 30 October last year and 96 on 18 December, with supply notifications issued for a further 10 treatments to NHS providers in the UK since then.

Its analysis suggests a 100% increase in shortages compared with January 2022, with pharmacists and health charities claiming the conditions of some patients were deteriorating as a result.

Delyth Morgan, the chief executive of Breast Cancer Now, said her organisation had been contacted over the past 12 months by several patients unable to source the medicines they needed to control the spread of their disease.

She said: "Last year many people shared with us, via Breast Cancer Now's helpline, that they'd been facing difficulties accessing their hormone treatment including letrozole, anastrozole and tamoxifen, causing them huge worry and anxiety. Trying to track down a treatment by travelling to a number of different pharmacies is an added burden for patients at an already difficult time.

And that's only if there are stocks elsewhere.

"It may also sometimes be that certain brands of drugs are out of stock and people may have to switch to another brand or different drug. In the worst case someone may have a period of time without the medication, a drug which could help reduce the risk of their breast cancer coming back or spreading."

Douglas Twenefour, the head of care at Diabetes UK, said: "The ongoing shortages of many GLP-1 medications are having serious implications for many people with type 2 diabetes and are still a major concern. With these shortages likely to last for at least the rest of this year, this will have a significant impact on whether many people with type 2 diabetes can access the best course of treatment for them."

The war in Ukraine and problems in global supply chains have generally affected many European countries' drugs supply, with concerns being raised about fresh market instability in light of the violence in the Red Sea, a key shipping corridor for vital ingredients.

Note that, by bombing Yemen, the UK sabotaged its ability to ship through the region.

The EU, of which the UK is no longer a member, recently agreed to create a stockpile for key drugs and to invest in increased domestic production.

There have been well-documented shortages in hormone replacement therapy and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder products due, in part, to higher demand.

In just a few years? Even so - and that does seem probable - governments are responsible for forecasting and responding to these fluctuations.

Janet Morrison, the chief executive of Community Pharmacy England, said the shortages were unprecedented and were beginning to hit patients hard. "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.

"This all causes worrying delays for patients, and in worst cases it can lead to a deterioration of their health: last year we surveyed people working in pharmacies and 87% told us that their patients' health was being put at risk due to medicine supply issues. This is shocking, and government and the NHS must step in to resolve these issues."

The NHS is increasingly having to issue price concessions on products under which it agrees to increase its level of reimbursement to pharmacists due to spikes in demand and market prices.

There were 152 such concessions in December 2023 compared with 20 in June 2016, the month of the Brexit referendum, when the UK's stated intention to leave the EU hit the value of sterling.

Evidently Brexit is not the problem.

There are also concerns that a government policy to limit NHS spending on branded drugs is having an effect on the pharmaceutical industry's willingness to invest in supplying the UK. There is a cap on the total allowed sales value of branded medicines to the NHS each year, which grows at an agreed rate of 2% per annum.

Any medicine sales above the cap are paid back to the government via a levy charged on companies' sales revenues. A scheme with a 4% cap has been introduced for the next five years after consultations with the pharmaceutical industry.

Morrison said the government was underinvesting in drug supply.

She said: "Price concessions are a sign that companies won't, or can't, supply a type of medicine at the price that officials previously thought would be enough. Although they show that the system is responding, they are a symptom of the squeeze that brings disruptions and shortages."

Mark Dayan, the Brexit programme lead at the Nuffield Trust, said there was evidence of a drop-off in medical imports from the EU since Brexit that suggested companies had responded by changing their supply chains, potentially leaving the UK more exposed to supply issues.

He said: "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.

"A payment mechanism to claw money back from companies when sales rose too high saved the NHS money, but it reduced the incentive to sell branded products here.

"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."

A DHSC spokesperson said they did not recognise the figures provided by the British Generic Manufacturers Association.

He said: "There are a number of reasons that a limited number of medicines may be unavailable, such as manufacturing difficulties, supply of raw materials, sudden demand spikes or issues with distribution.

"The department has well-established procedures to deal with such issues and works closely with industry, the NHS and others to prevent shortages, and resolve any problems as soon as they arise.

"This includes working closely with the NHS so they can put suggested plans in place to mitigate the risk of the shortage impacting patients."

ADHD medication recalled due to labelling mishap

A drug manufacturer is voluntarily recalling one of its medications - Zenzedi - that treats ADHD and narcolepsy due to mislabeled packaging amid a year-and-a-half-long stimulant shortage.

The recall notice, posted on 24 January, stated that Azurity Pharmaceuticals is recalling its 30mg tablets of Zenzedi after a pharmacist in Nebraska discovered that a bottle labelled as containing Zenzedi actually contained an antihistamine called carbinoxamine maleate.

The FDA noted that ADHD or narcolepsy patients who were prescribed Zenzedi and accidentally took the antihistamine "will experience undertreatment of their symptoms".

While Zenzedi is a stimulant, carbinoxamine maleate could cause drowsiness, sleepiness, central nervous system depression, increased eye pressure, enlarged prostate urinary obstruction, and thyroid disorder, the FDA warned.

The agency said that the 30mg tablets of Zenzedi look like light yellow hexagonal tablets marked with "30" on one side and "MIA" on the other.

Zenzedi recalled after labelling mishap

The Nebraska pharmacist described the carbinoxamine maleate tablets as white round tablets with imprints of "GL" on one side and "211" on the other side.

The FDA warned consumers who have the recalled medication to stop using it and return the medication to where they obtained it.

Azurity sent recall notification letters to wholesale distributors on 4 January, the agency said, and "arranged for the return of all recalled products at that wholesaler level".

The recall comes as a stimulant shortage has persisted since October 2022. The shortage has sparked a crisis across the US, affecting millions of adults and children.

One can only imagine what the consequences might be when a population who have become reliant on a drug for mental stability are forced to go cold turkey.

Ever since the FDA announced that there was a scarcity of Adderall in October 2022, a domino effect of shortages has ensued. People were forced to switch from Adderall to other medications, leading to shortages in Vyvanse in July 2023 followed by a methylphenidate (Concerta and Ritalin) shortage days later.

• UK food shortages 'alarmingly likely' next year, University of Belfast warns - malnutrition cases tripled in 10 years
• Fire tears through huge egg farm in Texas