Product Doors Closing !

 The news that the European Union  (EU ) has slapped a ban on the export of vaccines to combat the coronavirus until its own citizens are protected breaks all the rules of international commerce.  A listing of countries without vaccine production facilities has been excluded from the ban but it seems likely that Australia may face a delay in getting the deliveries expected next month.

Fortunately, that pandemic is more or less under control here and our own production facilities can make up the shortfall without a major delay, but by concentrating vaccine manufacturing on the world pharmaceutical industry shortages are starting to show up in the supply of other medical products sold in chemist shops - and one of those is the contraceptive pill..

Australia is still one of the few world countries that insists that supply of contraceptive pills requires a prescription from a registered doctor.  In most of the world, they are available over the counter. The contraceptive pill comes in a wide variety of brands, each with its own particular side effects and most women experiment before settling on the brand and type that they find most suitable for their use.

Some of the most popular pills are made by US pharmaceutical company, Pfizer which is also a main manufacturer of the coronavirus vaccine.   Shortages became evident here in August 2020, just when Pfizer was stepping up final trials of its vaccine and it was hoped these would settle back to a normal rhythm  by December.

In fact, supply shortages are now much worse.  About  14,000 Australian women use Pfizer's Brevinor,  Brevinor-1,  Norinin and Norinin1 pills and in October the TGA approved  two other pills with identical ingredients for release in Australia to ease the shortage.  These were Necon and Pirmella.   They are listed on the PBS, but the price is prohibitively expensive for those finding themselves without their regular medication.

It has been observed by Family Planning NSW that the cost in pharmacies ranges from $59 to $ 169 for a three month supply.  It seems evident that vaccine production is intruding on the manufacture of the routine production of the general range of pharmaceutical products to the detriment of the buying public.

There is a danger that if pharmaceutical manufacturers concentrate on vaccine production to supply a desperate world this under supply may extend to the wide range of medication that in many cases is keeping people alive.  Not only may essential medication become unavailable, but alternatives may be out of financial reach for many people.

It is therefore imperative that Australia look to our nascent Chemical manufacturing industry to fill the gap.   Making medication under license can not only supply the home market, but also become a very valuable export and job opportunity for the output of our universities.

Unfortunately, this greedy self interest now apparent in the EU may quickly spread to other sections of the manufacturing world.  We need to look to our own salvation !