European drug regulators are updating regulations to stem drug shortages. Are there lessons for Americans? Drug shortages are not solely an American problem.
Last winter, European supplies of common antibiotics were critically low, especially for children, due to the surge of respiratory infections that followed two years of laying low to avoid Covid-19. There were also shortages of heart drugs.
In the U.S., big proposals to solve the drug shortages have made little progress so far. On Tuesday, though, in a so-called Communication, the European Medicines Agency issued guidelines aimed at providing relief from shortages.