{"id":4124,"date":"2026-02-25T08:25:47","date_gmt":"2026-02-25T07:25:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/iph-multisite.berta-bewegt.ch\/?page_id=4124"},"modified":"2026-02-25T13:17:01","modified_gmt":"2026-02-25T12:17:01","slug":"versorgungssicherheit","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.interpharma.ch\/en\/themen\/der-patient-im-mittelpunkt\/versorgungssicherheit\/","title":{"rendered":"Supply reliability"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>Bottlenecks in the medicines supply chain are a global problem. The globalisation of manufacturing and distribution systems results in production being concentrated in one or just a few locations. This has been a problem in the USA since the late 1990s. Supply bottlenecks are nothing new in Switzerland, but they are repeatedly attracting a lot of media attention. They are usually due to particular circumstances that generally have their origin in the countries where the products are manufactured.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The\ncore of the problem is the globalisation of markets and the concentration of\nproduction at just a few companies, together with just-in-time supply chains\nand the associated decrease in the size of inventories held by the\nmanufacturers and in the supply chain, e.g. wholesalers, hospitals, etc. Technical\nmanufacturing problems such as stability or sterility issues can also lead to a\ntemporarily restricted supply situation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Generally\nincreasing global demand can also result in bottlenecks, since production\ncapacities cannot be adapted overnight; it takes years to bring a new\nproduction facility with complex operations on stream. One example is the\nmanufacture of vaccines. Demand for vaccines is currently not only rising all\nover the world but is also very variable due to the changing spectrum of pathogens,\nnew vaccination recommendations and pandemics.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-not-all-medicines-are-equally-affected\"><strong>Not all medicines are equally affected<\/strong><strong><\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Active\nsubstances that are manufactured in only a few facilities worldwide and older\nmedicines that are off-patent or were authorised a long time ago are in a\nparticularly exposed position. 95% of all supply bottlenecks occur with active\ningredients whose patent has expired. Medicinal products that are still\nprotected by a patent are less often affected by supply bottlenecks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Many\nsupply bottlenecks are annoying for patients but not critical. Sometimes the\nsituation can be resolved simply by replacing an unavailable pack size with a\ndifferent size, or by using a medicine from another company. A supply shortage,\non the other hand, is a more serious problem. This arises if no therapeutic\nalternative is available and the supply of an entire product range is limited\nthroughout the system.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-vaccines\"><strong>Vaccines<\/strong><strong><\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Vaccines\nare manufactured by a limited number of companies that operate on a global\nbasis. The complexity of the manufacturing process means that production can\nonly be adapted over a very long period of time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Vaccine\nmanufacturers also have to cope with non-harmonised authorisation procedures\nand complex reimbursement processes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-pharmaceutical-manufacturers-are-required-to-report-supply-bottlenecks\"><strong>Pharmaceutical manufacturers are required to report supply\nbottlenecks<\/strong><strong><\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Since\nearly October 2015, pharmaceutical companies have been required to report a\nsupply bottleneck if it persists for longer than two weeks. The process is\noverseen by the Federal Office for National Economic Supply (FONES). If a\nbottleneck is imminent, the FONES identifies alternatives in the form of\ngenerics or other types of treatment. The pharmaceutical industry co-sponsors\nthe FONES reporting platform and has contributed constructively to the process\nfrom the outset.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Since\nsupply bottlenecks are caused by different factors, there is no single approach\ncapable of overcoming them. Immediate actions that can be taken include a quota\nsystem in the distribution chain to prevent stockpiling and the creation and\nupdating of lists known as registries. Mandatory stores can be set up for\nmedicinal products and active ingredients needed to treat rare or\nlife-threatening diseases and for which no alternative is available. Mandatory\nstores are regulated in the National Economic Supply Act (NESA). In the past,\nthey have ensured a supply of medicines during times of shortage on multiple\noccasions. If a medicinal product is needed urgently in Switzerland and is\nstill available in another country, the product can be obtained by way of\nexception from the manufacturer or through a pharmacy in the original packaging\nintended for that country.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Bottlenecks in the medicines supply chain are a global problem. The globalisation of manufacturing and distribution systems results in production being concentrated in one or just a few locations. This has been a problem in the USA since the late 1990s. Supply bottlenecks are nothing new in Switzerland, but they are repeatedly attracting a lot [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":14761,"parent":4208,"menu_order":5,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"page-templates\/unterthema.php","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-4124","page","type-page","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v27.2 (Yoast SEO v27.2) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-premium-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Supply reliability - Interpharma<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.interpharma.ch\/en\/themen\/der-patient-im-mittelpunkt\/versorgungssicherheit\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Supply reliability\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Bottlenecks in the medicines supply chain are a global problem. 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