Pharmacies are very concerned: painkillers are becoming scarce - ibuprofen is not in stock in many places

Created: 07/05/2022 07:52

By: Magdalena Hoecherl

No more ibuprofen in stock: Like Ingrid Kaiser, many pharmacists are currently struggling with supply bottlenecks.

© Lehmann

In Bavaria there is currently a shortage of medicines with various active ingredients.

Many places don't stock liquid ibuprofen.

Freising/Munich – Ingrid Kaiser can hardly believe it.

"I've been a pharmacist for almost 30 years and have never had to send a mother away because I no longer had Nurofen." But that's exactly what happened to the pharmacist from Freising.

The drawer with the children's fever syrup with the active ingredient ibuprofen remains empty for the first time.

Bavaria's pharmacies are running out of ibuprofen - "Depending on global supply chains"

Many pharmacists in Bavaria are in the same situation as Kaiser.

The Doctor Beckers Central Pharmacy in Munich's Stachus has also been struggling with delivery problems for weeks.

"First only the liquid Ibu forms were affected, now the entire range of active ingredients," says Managing Director Roman Götz.

"Like furniture retailers, we are also dependent on global supply chains and the raw materials for the medicines come from factories in countries like China or India." The 32-year-old is not only placing orders in wholesale, but also directly with the manufacturers.

What matters in the end depends on the day.

By the way: Everything from the region is also available in our regular Freising newsletter.

Ingrid Kaiser is currently finding it difficult to find paracetamol juices as an alternative and electrolyte powder.

Pharmacy operator Götz lacks enzyme preparations.

“In the case of inflammatory joint diseases, they are in high demand, but they are also hard to come by,” he says.

"Unfortunately, for a pharmacist it is day-to-day business that 300 to 400 preparations cannot be delivered." It is difficult to say why it is now the ibuprofen that is affected.

Bavarian Pharmacy Association warns: "There are hardly any manufacturers left in Europe",

Georg Miedl, medical spokesman in the Freising district, cites several reasons: on the one hand, the incidence of infection has increased significantly, especially among children.

Whether influenza, Covid or flu infections - the need for ibuprofen is increased.

"So the stocks in pharmacies that are usual for this time of year are running out." On the other hand, many manufacturers have withdrawn from the comparatively complex and therefore more expensive production of liquid medicines.

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"There are hardly any manufacturers left in Europe," says the Bavarian Association of Pharmacists.

An export ban, such as that imposed by India, quickly makes itself felt in pharmacies.

Just like plant closures, accidents in factories, contaminated or unapproved batches.

The association is calling for production to be brought back to Europe in order to be less dependent on the global market.

The Federal Institute for Drugs and Medical Devices currently lists 253 drugs with delivery bottlenecks.

You can find more current news from the district of Freising at Merkur.de/Freising.