More Than 700 Medicines Face Shortages in Switzerland

More than 700 medicines are currently affected by supply bottlenecks in Switzerland, placing pressure on pharmacies, hospitals and patients who depend on regular treatment. The figure comes from drugshortage.ch, a platform operated by hospital pharmacist Enea Martinelli. It tracks individual medicine packs and draws much of its information from pharmaceutical companies and a wholesaler supplying health-care providers.

The breadth of the list has intensified demands for stronger federal action. Switzerland’s official monitoring system records shortages and supply interruptions, but focuses mainly on medicines classified as essential. Martinelli created his platform to capture a wider range of disruptions, including products that may fall outside the authorities’ narrower monitoring framework.

The impact varies by product. A delayed delivery can force a pharmacy to source an alternative, while a shortage of an injectable medicine or a treatment with few substitutes can create difficult decisions for hospitals. The drugshortage.ch data therefore offers a broader picture of pressure across the market, from routine medicines to therapies used in serious illnesses.

The issue reached the National Council this week as parliament considered the popular initiative Yes to the Security of Medical Care and the Federal Council’s proposed counter-proposal.

67 medicines containing 42 distinct active ingredients are classified as facing critical or very critical shortages in an analysis of the drugshortage.ch platform. The affected treatments span several parts of the health system, making the problem broader than a temporary gap on a pharmacy shelf.

Cancer care accounts for the largest group identified in the analysis, with 10 active ingredients used in oncology. Five active ingredients are used to treat bacterial or other infections, five concern eye conditions and another five are linked to blood disorders. Four are used in neurology. The list also includes medicines for pain relief, heart disease and addiction treatment.

The data reaches into psychiatry, endocrinology, obstetrics, anaesthesia and supportive care. These categories cover medicines used in hospitals as well as products prescribed in community care. The analysis concerns active ingredients, while the platform itself tracks shortages of individual packs. Those are different measures, but together they show how a disruption in manufacturing or distribution can affect several products and treatment settings.

Some medicines can be replaced by another product. Others require a change in dosage, formulation or treatment plan, decisions that must be made by clinicians and pharmacists.

A small number of manufacturers often stand behind an entire international supply chain. Drug shortages have become more common across developed countries as production has concentrated among fewer suppliers. A quality failure, production delay, raw-material shortage, transport disruption or sudden surge in demand at one plant can affect several markets at once.

Older generic medicines, antibiotics, injectable cancer drugs and opioids face particular exposure. Their production can be complex, while commercial margins may give manufacturers limited incentive to maintain multiple production sites or large reserves. When one supplier encounters a problem, hospitals and pharmacies may have few immediate alternatives.

Switzerland has additional vulnerabilities. Its market is relatively small, which can make it less attractive for manufacturers deciding where to maintain suppliers or prioritise deliveries during a shortage. The country also depends heavily on international production. Disruptions abroad can therefore reach Swiss patients even when domestic demand has not changed.

Mandatory reserves have already been used for some medicines on the Swiss shortage list. That shows the state can cushion a disruption, but it also demonstrates how public stockpiles sometimes compensate for weaknesses in the commercial supply chain. Longer-term resilience depends on reliable information, diversified sourcing and clear responsibilities between industry and government.

Five of the six parliamentary groups in the National Council agreed that medicine supply security is a genuine problem. Most nevertheless backed the Federal Council’s direct counter-proposal rather than the popular initiative Yes to the Security of Medical Care.

The National Council has recommended that voters reject the initiative. The initiative’s supporters, including Martinelli and a broad coalition from the health-care sector, want the federal government to take stronger steps to secure medicine supplies. Parliament’s majority judged the government’s alternative more targeted. The Swiss People’s Party opposed both measures.

The debate now moves to the Council of States. The parliamentary process will determine whether the counter-proposal advances as the preferred legislative response or whether the initiative continues towards a public vote. The decision also reflects a broader policy choice: how far the federal government should go in monitoring shortages, building reserves and influencing procurement and production decisions.

For patients, the timetable matters less than whether the system can identify risks early and secure substitutes before treatment is disrupted. The current data has made the supply problem visible. Parliament must now decide which responsibilities should sit with the Confederation and which should remain with manufacturers, wholesalers, hospitals and pharmacies.