The Ministry of Health has published a new anti-export list. It is much shorter than the previous ones, which took into account the difficult situation related to the coronavirus epidemic. The new list includes 312 products. Simultaneously with the new list of drugs subject to the export ban, there was information about a decrease in sales of drugs in pharmacies by approx. 38%.
- There were 386 items on the anti-export list published in February
- In March, the list of drugs banned from exports was significantly extended to fight the coronavirus – on March 5, it included 1324 items, and on March 17, this number increased to 1587.
- The anti-export list of April 1 included 858 products
The new anti-export list is valid from April 17
The announcement released on April 16 by the Ministry of Health includes a new list of drugs and medical devices that cannot be exported outside the country. It included 312 products, which is clearly less than the previous list of April 1, which had 858 items. You can find a full list of drugs at risk of unavailability HERE.
The export ban covers, inter alia, some drugs for the thyroid gland (Euthyrox, Letrox), drugs for diabetics (Avamina SR, NovoMix 30, Metformax SR), agents administered in cardiovascular diseases (Fragmin) or human immunoglobulins (HyQvia, Kiovig, Panzyga).
On the other hand, products such as paracetamol and ibuprofen medications have disappeared from the new list.
In the past two months anti-export list updated several times due to the threat of coronavirus. Due to the epidemic situation, the ministry first added many products to the list to reduce the problem of the lack of availability of certain drugs and personal protective equipment. The list is now shorter as the practice of stockpiling drugs has become less common. This is evidenced by the decline in drug sales, which is clear when we compare the results of the pharmacy market in March and April.
Sales in the pharmacy market are falling
The situation on the pharmacy market in Poland changed suddenly when the COVID-19 epidemic reached the country. There was then a sudden increase in sales of drugs, supplements and medical devices. Due to the fear of shortages of funds needed to fight the coronavirus, the anti-export list was significantly expanded in March. Since April, however, a reverse trend is visible and the number of positions is declining.
According to the cowzdrowiu.pl portal, the analysis presented by PEX Pharma Sequence shows that sales value on the pharmacy market in the first 15 days of April it is about 38 percent. lower than in the same period of March.
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