Dutch Medicine Shortage Gets Even Worse

By Diederik Stadig of ING Economics

Economic and Financial Analysis • Jan 26, 2024 at 7:35 PM EST

The Dutch medicine shortage increased by 51% last year. This worrisome development should warrant more attention from policymakers. Potential solutions, such as bringing notably generic medicine production back to Europe, are possible but costly

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Dutch medicine shortage continues to mount

We researched the European medicine shortage late last year and predicted that shortages will continue to rise for the foreseeable future. New data published this week on the Dutch medicine shortage confirmed our fears. Unfortunately, Dutch drug shortages increased by 51% in 2023 compared to 2022. In 2023, there were 2,292 instances where patients could not get the medicine they required, up from 1,514 in 2022.

Many European governments are currently reflecting on their dependencies in a changing world. These discussions on 'strategic autonomy' technology, and microchips especially, are on everyone's lips. However, most (generic) medicine is produced overseas, mainly in India and China. With shortages continuing to rise and with ageing populations, medicines should be at the forefront of these discussions.

Solutions, like bringing, notably, generic medicine production back to Europe, are possible but costly. Yet, policymakers can ill afford to wait and need to make decisions, not least on funding. Otherwise, medicine shortages in Europe will likely keep increasing.

Dutch medicine shortage continues to mount

Number of instances in which a medicine was not available in Dutch pharmacies

Source: KNMP

We've written more extensively on Europe's medicine shortage and the potential solutions here.

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