​Romania has become part of the “CHESSMEN” joint action project on managing interruptions in the supply of medicines, the Ministry of Health reports.

Medicines and supplements Photo: / Alamy / Alamy / Profimedia

“The Ministry of Health and the National Agency for Medicines and Medical Devices of Romania (ANMDMR) are jointly implementing the CHESSMEN joint action project (Coordination and Harmonization of Existing Medicines Supply Interruption Management Systems – European Network). with 27 other pharmaceutical regulatory authorities from 21 member states of the European Union/European Economic Area (EU/EEA),” the Ministry of Health said on Monday.

In recent years, at the global level, drug shortages or interruptions in the supply of drugs have become a serious problem, which negatively affects the field of public health, respectively, the access of patients to treatment, says the institution under the leadership of Alexandrou Rafila.

“Whether it’s manufacturing issues, difficulties in the distribution chain, or regulatory policies on drug prices, the impact on the population is the same: drug shortages. Therefore, there are many reasons that give rise to these risks, and it is necessary to define comprehensive solutions and strategies,” the Ministry of Health predicts.

In this context, to support Member States in implementing appropriate processes and measures to address this deficit, the CHESSMEN joint action project was developed, which aims to identify and disseminate effective models and initiatives in the field of reporting, monitoring and implementation of specific measures, while promoting continuous dialogue between responsible regulatory bodies.

The activities included in this joint action are focused both on preventing disruptions in the supply of medicines and on creating operational strategies aimed at minimizing their impact, the Ministry of Health also notes.

The project, which started on January 16, 2023, is co-financed by the European Commission through the EU4Health program and lasts for three years, coordinated by the Italian Medicines Agency (AIFA – Agenzia Italiana del Farmaco) with the support of the National Institute of Health in Italy (ISS-CNS, CNT) .