Medicinal chemistry

There is a shortage of medicines in Greece, particularly vaccines for children, the head of the country’s Pharmacists’ Association, Constantinos Lourantos, warned on Thursday.

He blamed a lack of supply and firms exporting drugs to markets where they could sell them at a better price as the key factors causing the alleged shortage.

A price hike of up to 4% of over-the-counter drugs is expected, according to professor Ilko Getov, President of the Bulgarian Pharmaceutical Union.

The main reason for the increased prices is the expiration of the one-year drug price freeze moratorium, Bulgarian Telegraph Agency reports.

Pharmacists are set to strike on Thursday to protest the government’s decision to slash their profit margins.

The action was recommended by the head of the Panhellenic Pharmacists’ Association, Kyriakos Theodosiadis, following a meeting of its members on Saturday.

The number of pharmacists in Athens willing to keep their stores open for on-call and nighttime duties is dwindling fast due to financial concerns, according to figures seen by Kathimerini, but there has been a rise in pharmacies that have ditched traditional opening hours to serve customers for longer.

After an open-ended strike by pharmacists resulted in huge lines of Greeks seeking medicines, the union representing the sector decided over the weekend to open more duty pharmacies to tackle the fallout of its own industrial action.

Pharmacists have decided to launch an open-ended strike from Wednesday in protest at the government’s liberalization measures.

The pharmacists accused the coalition of making last-minute changes to draft legislation that will limit the role of pharmacies and threaten the livelihoods of some 12,000 Greek pharmacists.

Pharmacists launched a new 24-hour strike on Monday to protest liberalization measures they feel threaten their livelihood and profession.

Pharmacies around the country were shut, following a 48-hour strike last week, as their owners feel the government’s proposals will allow large chains to dominate the market at the expense of independent stores.