The Institute of Oncology ran out of the drug "zomet", intended for patients with cancer that spread to the bones, so patients were forced to buy it.
New quantities of the drug, according to the authorities, should arrive in the middle of this month.
From "Montefarm", which supplies the Clinical Center of Montenegro (KCCG) with drugs, it was announced that they contracted quantities that have not yet been fully delivered, explaining that "Zometa" was not provided on time by the manufacturer "Novartis Pharma" due to production problems.
"The drug 'zometa', concentrate for solution for infusion 1*4mg/5ml, was not provided by the manufacturer 'Novartis Pharma' on time due to production problems. The shortage of the mentioned drug has existed in the region since the second quarter of the current year, as well as in the countries of the European Union. As for Montenegro, the drug was available until mid-October and was last delivered on October 16 to KCCG from the Montefarma warehouse. The drug is currently not available from the supplier, and according to the information we received, they expect the import of the first quantities in mid-November of the current year," the institution's reply reads.
"Montefarm" clarified that this institution is not a direct importer of medicines and medical devices, but procures them exclusively in accordance with the Law on Public Procurement and the valid list of medicines, which implies the announcement of a tender to which authorized importers and holders of permits for placing into traffic.
"Such is the case with the drug 'zometa', where we signed a procurement contract on June 11, 2024 with the company 'Glosarij', which is the only supplier of the mentioned medication in Montenegro, and the contracted quantities were mostly delivered in accordance with the agreed dynamics, while the remaining part is still waiting, due to problems in the production line", they said.
"Montefarm" said that the medicine will be immediately delivered to the institutions that require it immediately after its arrival.
"Montefarm does not have the ability to react to these and similar situations, when the manufacturer of a specific medicine has a problem in the production itself and does not announce in advance the suspension of delivery, about which we regularly inform the relevant ministry and public health institutions", he writes in the answer.
A shortage of the drug "zometa" was recorded two years ago, also due to production problems. The drug is on the basic list of drugs and the state pays for it at a price of around 44 euros, while the maximum established price according to the new list, adopted at the end of October, is around 92 euros.
"Zometa" is not the only medicine that fails the health systems in Montenegro, the region and Europe, due to problems with the manufacturer. "Montefarm" announced two days ago that the global drug market lacks growth hormone, which was created when the manufacturer "Novo Nordisk" informed all countries in the first quarter of the year that it was suspending the production of the drug "norditropin nordiflex" 10mg/1,5ml and 15mg /1,5 ml. Until then, about 95 percent of children used this drug as therapy.
"Montefarm" clarified that for younger children they have the drug "genotropin", manufactured by "Pfizer", and that they regularly deliver it to pharmacies that normally distribute specific therapies.
"It is the growth hormone INN somatropin for younger children. As for 'genotropin' in the strength of 12mg/1ml, the manufacturer 'Pfizer' has informed us that it is not able to provide the necessary quantities until the second half of November", explained the institution.
This summer, patients also complained about the shortage of the drug "progesterone depot", which is used by pregnant women in order to prevent premature birth, and the reason was that the European Commission decided to terminate the validity of the drug license for all drugs containing the active substance 17-hydroxyprogesterone caproate .
After the studies showed that there is a possible risk of the influence of this substance on the appearance of cancer, the solution for injections of "progesterone" was discontinued for the same reason in neighboring countries and Montenegro.
The director of "Montefarm" Aleksandar Bogavac previously said in an interview with "Vijesta" that the problem in the production of medicines suddenly became complicated during the covid, when we had serious problems in the supply chain due to the lack of raw materials, but also that after the pandemic it remained "relatively unsolved" and affects all of Europe.
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Asked whether the state can prevent a shortage of the most important medicines, such as cytostatics, Bogavac then said that, in principle, there is a shortage of those medicines in Montenegro which at that moment even the EU countries do not have, explaining that the re-establishment of commodity reserves, which implies and medicines and medical devices, made it possible to overcome such situations.
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