Many Malaga pharmacies don't sell Urbason for acute allergic reactions

Health

A report by Luda Partners also states that pharmacies are short on eye drops for glaucoma and a drug that prevents bleeding during the summer

José Antonio Sau

According to data by Luda Partners, Urbason is among the top five medications with the highest number of reported shortages in pharmacies in Malaga province during the summer.

Urbason (methylprednisolone) is a corticosteroid that reduces inflammation and modulates the immune system's response. It is used to treat severe allergic reactions, autoimmune diseases, asthma attacks and other acute or chronic inflammatory conditions.

The other four medications with low stock in Malaga's pharmacies are: Fixaprost, an eye drop that combines latanoprost and timolol for the treatment of glaucoma and ocular hypertension; Amchafibrin (tranexamic acid) for the prevention and treatment of hemorrhages; Lenzetto, a transdermal solution of estradiol used in hormone therapy for menopause; and Zaditen (kenotifen, ophthalmic antihistamine for the treatment of allergic conjunctivitis).

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  • Chronic patients

    Luda Partners points out that these drugs are for patients with chronic conditions, which "amplifies the severity of the problem, considering that 54.3 per cent of the population over 15 years of age suffers from at least one chronic disease".

    This increases significantly among the over-65s: an age group in which 40 per cent of men and 44 per cent of women have two or more chronic conditions, according to data from the Ministry of Health for the 2025-2028 period.

    In recent weeks, 11,785 supply shortage incidents have been reported at the state level, corresponding to 1,538 different pharmaceutical products. This reflects "the magnitude of a phenomenon entrenched in the Spanish health system".

    Shortage of aspirin

    For the first time, acetylsalicylic acid (the active ingredient in aspirin) appears among the medicines with the highest number of reported shortages in Spain, representing four per cent of the total.

    The report primarily corresponds to a laboratory that markets the drug in a 75 mg, 30-tablet pack. In addition, the list of supply issues from the Spanish agency for medicines and health products (Aemps) includes the 100 mg, 500-tablet pack, marketed by another well-known generic drug manufacturer in Spain, and Aspirin Plus 500 mg/50 mg 20-tablet pack.

    Why does this happen? The fact that acetylsalicylic acid is among the drugs with the most reported shortages is due to various circumstantial causes such as "the occasional increase in demand at certain times of the year, the increase in production costs, trends driven by social networks or international conflicts that strain the global supply chain".

    In addition, certain "administrative policies or the low price of some medications also hinder their profitability and production".

    Spain is not the only country that faces medicine supply shortages.

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