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Düsseldorf (German news agency) – NRW Minister of Health Karl-Josef Laumann (CDU) sees a relaxation in the shortage of medicines, at least in the short term. Laumann said at an event organized by the “Rheinische Post” on Wednesday evening that he had received feedback from wholesalers that they were able to get the scarce medicines on the world markets.
“I think we’ll get the bottlenecks under control a bit.” However, he warned that antibiotic shortages are global. The CDU politician demanded that more pharmaceutical production be brought to Europe again. The head of the National Association of Statutory Health Insurance Physicians, Andreas Gassen, agreed: “Germany used to be Europe’s pharmacy, now we’re lagging behind.” He criticized that three plants in India are responsible for the global production of diabetes medicines. “Globalization, as nice as it sounds, also means that when things get stuck, they’re stuck everywhere.” Gassen described the fact that antibiotic juices for children are currently not available as an oath of disclosure and called for a relocation to Europe. However, Laumann warned against exaggerated expectations. “Before we can produce here again on a significant scale, we will all be five years older,” said the minister.