[Reporter’s View] Supply disruptions disclosed in real-time

MFDS updates llist of drugs that report supply interruption or shortage in real-time

As of January 10, it became possible to view the list of medicines that are at risk of short shortages or interruptions in real time.

 

The Ministry of Food and Drug Safety (MFDS) has improved the quarterly drug manufacture, import, and supply interruption information system on the Nedrug webpage to allow real-time updates.

 

As a result, not only the status of supply interruption and shortage of drugs, but also the expected date of supply normalization, the reason for the interruption, and alternative drug items are transparently disclosed.

 

Previously, the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety disclosed manufacture, import, and supply interruptions reported by pharmaceutical companies up to 60 days in advance every quarter, leaving the information checked through the website ‘outdated.’ As a result, medical institutions and pharmacies have been checking the list of shortage and discontinued drugs through their wholesalers.

 

However, it has been difficult to determine when and for what reason the shortage occurs for drugs that they do not deal with.

 

Also, consumers who did not know the status of drug supply had no way of knowing which drugs were in short supply in the field.

 

However, after the MFDS released the list of drug supply interruptions, we learned that the brain function enhancer Semion (nicergoline) had experienced a supply interruption due to facility issues and that the shortage of asthma treatment drug ‘Montelukan ODT 10mg (montelukast sodium)’ was due to a surge in sales and will be normalized around January 26.

 

The MFDS’s decision to expand the disclosure of drug-related information is not only helpful for the consumers but also for those in the clinical and pharmaceutical field.

 

The MFDS, which had been reluctant to disclose various information, has changed its stance and started to actively disclose information in 2022.

 

The contact information for each department in the organizational chart, which was previously kept private, is now available on the website, and new drug approval information is released in real time through a press release.

 

The status of approvals for each medical product every week and the status of drugs subject to information disclosure are also disclosed every month.

 

The real-time reporting of drug supply interruptions is considered a positive change that MFDS MInister Yu-Kyung Oh has been making toward an 'open MFDS' since her appointment in 2022.

 

The general election is coming up on April 10.

 

There is a lot of talk about her resignation from the MFDS due to the ‘general election shake-up' that always occurs during the general election season.

 

It is this reporter’s hope that the positive changes that have been made so far will not be reversed regardless of who is appointed.