Several types of medication commonly used to treat asthma in children are currently unavailable in Belgium. This is partly due to a shortage of precursor chemicals at pharmaceutical giant GSK, Het Nieuwsblad reported on Thursday.
Ventolin, Flixotide and the combined treatment Seretide are currently absent at many pharmacies across the country. These medicines, which are typically sold as inhalers, are crucial in the treatment of asthma in both adults and children. For patients under the age of six, there are currently no alternative treatment options available.
For children, colder periods during the winter often lead to flare-ups of the condition, making the availability of these medicines all the more important. On Tuesday, a delivery of 24,000 units of Ventolin arrived in Belgium via pharmaceutical wholesaler Febelco. However, this supply has already been almost exhausted, Het Nieuwsblad noted.
According to statistics from the Federal Medicines Agency (FAGG), there has been a shortage of all three of the asthma treatments in Belgium since December 2024. The Farmastatus platform, which allows Belgian consumers to track the availability of critical medicines, blames this shortage on a "production slowdown."
"The production of this medicine consists of several steps, each of which is subject to strict controls and of which no step can be skipped. If problems are noticed during these checks, this will be investigated […] If it proves impossible to solve these problems immediately, the manufacturer must temporarily stop production to guarantee the quality of this medicine," the platform explained.
Related News
- 'Getting production off the ground': EU will collaborate better to tackle drug shortages
- EU aims at self-sufficiency in medicinal drugs
The next shipment of Ventolin to Febelco is expected to arrive in Belgium in March. For Flixotide, no more imports are expected for the foreseeable future due to a lack of stock at GSK.
The British pharmaceutical conglomerate is a leading manufacturer of asthma treatments. In recent months, the company has reportedly been impacted by a shortage of salbutamol, which is a key ingredient in Ventolin and other asthma treatments.
In case of shortages, the FAGG says that pharmacists can import medicines from abroad. Pharmacists may also prescribe older children the powdered inhalant form of the medicine or move them to a stronger treatment option.
