UK gov and drug firms act on shortages

The UK government has produced new guidelines for dealing with drug shortages with the Association of the British Pharmaceutical Industry and the British Generic Manufacturers Association. The objective of the agreement is to ensure that, where a temporary supply problem for a particular active ingredient is known about, drugmakers should inform the National Health Service.

The key recommendations of the guidelines includes formalizing the nominated persons at drug firms and in the UK Department of Health who should be contacted in the event of a supply problem, which could be caused by technical failures or raw material shortages.