angeles cruz martinez
Newspaper La Jornada
Tuesday February 21, 2023, p. 13
Due to irregularities identified by the Federal Commission for the Protection against Sanitary Risks (Cofepris) in the production process of medicines for mental disorders, the Psicofarma laboratory, the main supplier in the country, suspended activities since last December. This has caused a shortage of products in the public and private sectors, which has been denounced by medical associations.
Medical specialists warn of the risk faced by patients who should not suspend their treatments to control conditions such as attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), epilepsy and depression.
Since last Friday, the Mexican Psychiatric Association has called on the authorities to resolve the problem involving controlled drugs. He noted that these are essential for proper management of symptoms of various disorders.
The interruption of the treatments at any time increases the risk of relapses, side effects and even, pointed out the association, there may be Serious complications, such as manic episodes, psychotic episodes, and risk of suicide
.
He stressed the importance of promptly resolving the administrative issues that are generating an important state of vulnerability in a large number of people
.
The Mexican Society of Pediatric Neurology spoke in the same vein and pointed out that some of the missing products are: methylphenidate, clonidine and lisdexamfetamine for ADHD; oxcarbazepine, clonazepam, phenobarbital and intravenous valproic acid that are used to control epilepsy.
There is also a lack of amitriptyline, imipramine and nortriptyline for the management of depression, and antipsychotics, such as risperidone.
La Jornada was able to confirm that the cause is the suspension of activities of Psicofarma, the main manufacturer of these drugs in the country, which has already received notifications from Cofepris about the irregularities identified.
The Ministry of Health (Ssa) reported that the shortage of these products is in the private sector and responds to a laboratory strategy that is hiding the medicines
as a form of pressure on Cofepris to lift the sanctions applied for the anomalies identified in the quality of production and the traceability of narcotic drugs.
He recalled that the Ministry of Public Function also sanctioned Psicofarma for breach of contracts with the public sector.
Meanwhile, members of the pharmaceutical industry commented that some shortages in the public sector are due to the fact that Psicofarma’s proposals were rejected in the tender for the consolidated purchase. The selected providers require time to meet the needs of public health institutions.
They pointed out that the problem, which began to be observed weeks ago, is influenced by the fact that during the covid-19 pandemic, the demand for medicines for the management of mental disorders in the country increased.
