A shortage of the antibiotic Klavocin, which should be available again on the BiH market by the end of the year, was reported to the BiH Agency for Medicines and Medical Devices.
A shortage has been reported Clavocin BID – powder for oral suspension, 400 mg/5 mL + 57 mg/5 mL, 1 glass vial with 10.5 g-11.6 g powder for the preparation of 70 mL oral suspension and a 5 mL measuring syringe ( suspension from 1 October 2024/end of suspension 31 December 2024), then film-coated tablet – 875 mg/1 tablet + 125 mg/1 tablet (suspension from 15 July 2024/end of suspension 30 September 2024) and film-coated tablet – 875 mg/1 tablet + 125 mg/1 tablet (suspension from March 8, 2024).
The Agency for Medicines and Medical Devices of Bosnia and Herzegovina told Feni that the manufacturer stated that the production of the mentioned series of medicines, intended for the BiH market, is delayed due to increased needs and reorganization of production.
They add that this is a temporary suspension and that all the mentioned medicines should be available on the BiH market by December 31, 2024 at the latest.
“On our market, there are drugs with the same active substances, the same strength and in the same pharmaceutical form from other manufacturers. Therefore, there is no fear that patients will be left without the necessary therapy,” notes the Agency.
As for the shortage of other medicines, they say that on our market a large number of medicines have so-called generic parallels, a medicine with the same active substance from another manufacturer.
“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 of high-quality, efficient and safe medicines, which affected the faster arrival of the drug to the patient. We also approve the circulation of the drug produced for another market, in accordance with the specification approved by our agency,” emphasizes the Agency for Medicines and Medical Devices of Bosnia and Herzegovina.
They explain that when it comes to permanent interruptions reported by manufacturers (revocation of the license and not entering the license renewal procedure), they occur mainly for commercial reasons, while temporary interruptions occur due to problems in the production process itself, then changes in the production process, such as and due to the reorganization of production, problems in the procurement of raw materials, problems in the supply of packaging material, globally disrupted supply chains.
As they say, 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.