The recent surge of COVID cases in China has affected the supply of antipyretics in Taiwan. On the 22nd, Victor Wang, the Commander of the Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC), proposed imposing controls over some drugs containing acetaminophen. Wang said that the authority doesn’t rule out a temporary real-name system to control the sales of drugs affected by the pandemic. The TFDA is going to call a meeting to discuss this issue, said Wu Shou-Mei, the TFDA Director-General.
Premier Su expressed his concern over the spread of disease from China and the impact on drug supply once the direct communication between Kinmen and China is opened. This opinion was echoed by the MOHW Minister who then revealed that the stock of the APIs for antipyretics is sufficient for 10.6 months and there are many substitute products.
Victor Wang expressed that as COVID is spreading fast in China, its neighbouring countries have been affected by the Chinese’s drug hoarding behaviour. The CECC is working with pharmacist associations to impose a temporary real-name system to control the sales of painkillers and antipyretics if the situation worsens.
Hsueh Rui-Yuan, the MOHW Minister, said the first wave of the control measure will target drugs containing acetaminophen. Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory will be for the second wave of control actions.
At present, there are 77 valid licenses for drugs with acetaminophen as the single ingredient which are produced in Taiwan. Among them, 47 are still in production. According to the data in 2019, the NHI reimbursed over 20 million tablets every month. For Ibuprofen, there are 14 valid licenses, and 9 are currently in production in Taiwan.
The TFDA is going to hold a meeting to discuss the control measure on 26 drugs containing acetaminophen as the single ingredient. However, so far it is still not yet clear whether the measures will be imposed on drug companies or on pharmacies.
【2022-12-25 / United Daily】
