UK households are being warned of potential shortages of four common medicines as the Iran conflict drives up costs and disrupts supply chains. Chemists in England report that painkillers like paracetamol and hay fever treatments have seen price increases of up to 30 per cent since February, according to the National Pharmacy Association (NPA).
Medicines at Risk
The warning specifically covers four tablets: paracetamol, aspirin, co-codamol, and cetirizine. Some pharmacies have already run out of aspirin and co-codamol, while cetirizine, a common hay fever medication, has risen in price by 30 per cent.
Olivier Picard, chair of the NPA, said: "It means that the cost of medicine is soaring and ends up being pharmacies dispensing at a loss."
Supply Chain Concerns
Mark Samuels, chief executive of Medicines UK, which represents manufacturers supplying 85% of NHS prescriptions, explained: "While the Iran conflict has not yet led to immediate or widespread medicine shortages for the NHS, this is due to stock already held in UK warehouses. As manufacturers move to replenish these stocks, transportation costs have risen by several hundred per cent, and some chemicals needed for manufacturing are in very short supply. If the conflict continues, we will inevitably see rising prices or shortages of essential medicines. This could be as soon as the next few weeks."
Global Impact
David Weeks, Texas-based director of supply chain risk management at analytics group Moody's, described the situation as a "perfect storm." He told The Guardian: "We have the conflict in the Gulf that caused the strait of Hormuz to shut down, and India is known as the pharmacy of the world. They produce a lot of the generic [off-patent] drugs and APIs [active pharmaceutical ingredients]. With the geopolitical situation, it's harder and harder to get those out."
