Alberta’s $70M deal for kids’ medication from Turkey deemed ‘costly and ineffective’
Posted Nov 24, 2023 12:00 pm.
Last Updated Nov 24, 2023 12:01 pm.
Last December, the province struck a deal with a pharmaceutical company from Turkey to address the widespread shortage of children’s medication, but now that $70-million contract is being deemed “costly and ineffective.”
Alberta pharmacies should have been well-stocked with children’s acetaminophen and ibuprofen in a matter of weeks following the deal, but that didn’t happen.
According to Calgary pharmacist Gunjan Dave, with RSV, COVID-19, and influenza in the mix, parents had limited options to care for sick kids.
“We could not put out more than a few bottles, we had to limit them, purchasing one per family,” he explained. “We still had a lot of issues with the stock.
“They weren’t up to the mark and that was not satisfactory during that time period.”
To date, Alberta has only received $ 20 million worth of the Turkish medicine — a weaker-strength product that is no longer being distributed locally.
Despite the province paying for a $70M contract, Health Canada says it won’t approve further shipments of the medicine unless there is a critical shortage.
In a statement to CityNews, the province says it continues to work with Turkish company Atabay to explore options to fulfill the remainder of the contract, which could include other products manufactured by them in the future, including medical supplies or medications.
Dave says children’s medicine isn’t an issue at the moment, but local pharmacies are running low on some others, like Ozempic, a medication for diabetes that is now being prescribed for weight loss.
“People who require medication for their life-threatening conditions — they’re not getting enough stock,” he said. “Also, some of the blood pressure medications in generic forms — they’re having stock issues.”
The province also says they “stand by the decision made last fall to act and obtain much-needed supply to support families” and feel confident that Alberta will be prepared if there’s a shortage in the future.
