Chronic drug shortages frustrate EU pharmacists, patients

AT A drug wholesaler warehouse in Belgium, shelves are emptier than they used to be.

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Like other EU nations, Belgium has increasingly experienced medicine shortages that vex pharmacists, exasperate patients and risk overloading public health services.

“There are often several dozen medications that are in short supply simultaneously, which makes our lives very difficult,” said Didier Ronsyn, a Brussels pharmacist.

An EU audit last month found shortages were a “chronic headache” across the bloc.

Its 27 states reported running critically short of 136 drugs, including antibiotics and medicines used to treat heart attacks, between 2022 and 2024, the European Court of Auditors (ECA) said.

Belgium reported the most cases, with more than a dozen critical instances - meaning no alternatives are available — notified to the European Medicines Agency (EMA) in 2024 only.

The cause partially lies in supply chain snags and Europe’ over-reliance on Asia for key drug components, the ECA said.

Cheaper prices mean that Asian producers now supply the EU with 70% of the active pharmaceutical ingredients it needs, according to a study cited in the ECA report.