A BRITISH man living in Cyprus has had to order his medication from the UK after his local pharmacy said they “had run out of stock and did not know if they would be getting further supplies”.
The case comes after pharmaceutical importers warned earlier this year that new cheaper prices ordered by the government could lead to shortages, as international companies wondered whether it was worth supplying the market.
Sixty-five-year-old John Smith has a heart condition which required the fitting of a pacemaker last year. He is now required to take two tablets of Tambocor a day, in order to prevent an interrupted heartbeat.
Ten days ago, Smith’s local Nicosia pharmacy issued him with what they called “the last batch” and told him there was no more Tambocor on the island.
Smith asked for alternative medication but the chemist was unable to prescribe anything and advised Lewis to contact his cardiologist in London.
Smith also asked a personal friend, who works as a nursing sister in a Nicosia clinic for help, but she could not get her hands on any Trambocor either.
He has therefore ordered a three-month supply from London Bridge Hospital pharmacy in England and needs to pay for it to be couriered to Cyprus, at considerable expense.
But Pantis Papaloizou, head of CG Papaloizou, who distributes Tambocor in Cyprus, yesterday told the Cyprus Mail that the Ministry of Health had stocks of Trambocor at the moment and that tablets could indeed be obtained.
He admitted that “volumes are small, at a few hundred packets per year. Patients have not been ignored but it’s difficult to supply the public market”.
A spokesman at the Ministry of Health, who wished to remain anonymous, confirmed the availability of Trambocor, saying: “once a prescription from a doctor is obtained, it should be taken to the pharmacy of Nicosia General Hospital, where the medication can be acquired. Alternatively, a local pharmacy can get the tablets themselves from the General Hospital”.
But Sotos Jacovides, President of the Cyprus Association of Pharmaceutical Companies, said that some products may be in short supply due to a new pricing system, which was implemented on March 1. “There have been price reductions of an average of 25 per cent since March 1 on 920 products following a political decision to offer lower pharmaceutical prices for the private sector in Cyprus.
“Since March 1, we have been suffering tremendous financial losses due to the lower prices.
“Members are considering taking legal action against the Health Ministry.”
He added that, “as long as products are available in our warehouses, availability should be fine. The worry will come when stocks are finished as we don’t know what will be re-imported.”
