Health Minister Hsueh Jui-yuan (薛瑞元) said on Tuesday that Taiwan has established a response center to combat ongoing drug shortages. One of the medicines in short supply is atorvastatin, known by its brand name Lipitor, which is commonly prescribed for patients with chronic diseases.
The new response center requires pharmaceutical companies and suppliers to report any foreseeable drug shortages six months in advance. This will give the Health Ministry time to work on increasing supply and balancing distributions.
Hsueh said the Health Ministry has already drafted both short and long-term strategies for dealing with the medicine shortages. He also said those who failed to comply with the reporting procedures could be fined up to NT$300,000 (US$ 10,000).
Commercial pharmacies are also worried about uneven drug distribution. Federation of Taiwan Pharmacists Associations spokesperson Wang Ming-yuan (王明媛) told reporters she hopes authorities can reach a balance while distributing medicine between hospitals and community pharmacies.
Minister Hsueh said the center will take every stakeholder’s medicine stock into consideration and redistribute the drugs when needed.