Parallel Trade and UK Drug Shortages

As a follow-up to yesterday's Pfizer Tries to Choke Demand for Parallel Imports, check out NHS Drug Shortage Looms as Pound Falls from the UK's Health Service Journal.

According to the article, "drug manufacturers and wholesalers have begun rationing the amount of certain drugs each UK pharmacist, GP and hospital dispensary can buy."

The article describes a dramatic slowdown in parallel drug imports into the UK. The British pound has plunged due to the financial crisis, while the U.S. dollar has been somewhat spared because we remain the primary international reserve currency. See U.K. Pound Serves as Omen for Dollar from The Wall Street Journal.

Ironically, the weak pound is now encouraging speculators to export UK drugs to more lucrative markets. The executive director of the British Association of Pharmaceutical Wholesalers warned that the UK could become “the new Greece or the new Spain,” i.e., a primary source of drugs for the EU.

According to the article: “Manufacturers and wholesalers have responded by imposing quotas on the volume of drugs UK pharmacies can buy in an attempt to cut off supply to parallel exporters. Individual pharmacies are being monitored for unusually large orders, which might suggest they were selling drugs on into Europe.”

Unexpected shortages in parallel exporting countries such as Greece or Spain are typical, but have been rare in the richer countries of Northern Europe. Nonetheless, I don't see how patients benefit from this type of unpredictable, currency-driven supply chain volatility.

Hopefully, any remaining fans of U.S. drug importation will take note of these unsettling developments.

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Also related to yesterday's post, here are three rat-free sites that educate U.S. consumers about counterfeit drugs:

• BuySafeDrugs.info
  
  
• DangerousPill.com
  
  
• SafeMedicines.org