At the end of last year and the beginning of this year, a shortage of several medicines was reported on the market of Bosnia and Herzegovina, while some will not be available until the end of the year, some have been permanently discontinued.
The reasons for the shortage include, among others, delays in production by manufacturers, problems in the supply chain, the decision of manufacturers not to renew the license, limited production capacities, reorganization of production and globally interrupted supply chains.
In December 2024 and during this year, a temporary or permanent interruption in the circulation of 33 medicines was reported, and the Agency for Medicines and Medical Devices of Bosnia and Herzegovina says that for a large number of medicines there are so-called generic parallels, so that in the event that a medicine from one manufacturer is missing, a medicine with the same active substance, the same strength and pharmaceutical form from another manufacturer is available.
Among other things, a shortage of Klavocin bid, Ventolin, Levemir, Carboplasin has been reported.
There is also a shortage of certain medicines for the treatment of diabetes, high blood pressure, as well as those used by oncology patients.
Manufacturers are obliged to notify the Agency in the event of an interruption in the supply of a medicine to the market, and interruptions can be temporary or permanent.
In the case of temporary interruptions, it is necessary to state the expected date of re-appearance of the medicine on the market. Manufacturers are also obliged to state the reasons for the interruption in the supply of the medicine to the market.
When it comes to permanent interruptions reported by manufacturers (revocation of the license and failure to enter the license renewal procedure), they occur mainly for commercial reasons, the Agency for Medicines and Medical Devices of BiH points out.
Temporary interruptions occur due to problems in the production process itself, then changes in the production process, reorganization of production, problems in the procurement of raw materials, problems in the procurement of packaging materials, globally disrupted supply chains.
– We are in daily communication with manufacturers and wholesalers. Last year, we prevented shortages by significantly improving the dynamics of processing requests for issuing/renewing/amending licenses for placing on the market in Bosnia and Herzegovina high-quality, effective and safe drugs, thereby influencing the faster delivery of the drug to the patient. Likewise, we approve the sale of medicine produced for another market, in accordance with the specification approved by our agency – the Agency for Medicines and Medical Devices of Bosnia and Herzegovina further explains.
They also say that they still find out about some of the shortages from patients, health institutions and in other ways, after which they contact the manufacturers to check the availability of drugs and see what are the ways to overcome the unavailability of the drug to patients.
By the way, since 2018, the Agency has had an information system that makes all shortages reported by producers publicly available.
Increased consumption of antibiotics
On the other hand, in Bosnia and Herzegovina, the trend of increasing consumption of antibiotics continues, and the total turnover of medicines is also increasing.
– The consumption of antibiotics in BiH in 2023 was 24.7 daily defined doses/1000 inhabitants per day (DDD/1000 inhabitants/day) – units in which the consumption of drugs is expressed – the Agency points out and adds that compared to the year before, the consumption of antibiotics in BiH is higher and is growing year by year.
At the same time, the total turnover of medicines also increased, which in 2023 amounted to 961,070,902.21 KM, while in 2022 this amount was 890,880,527.10 KM.
In the observed period, i.e. according to data for 2023, citizens spent 130,610,636.90 KM on over-the-counter medicines.
