Patients are scrambling to find life-saving statins as pharmacies run out of cholesterol drugs and prices soar.
- Eight million Britons rely on statins to lower cholesterol and prevent stroke
- Atorvastatin prices have risen from 49p to around £5.30 in the last six weeks.
Statins are in short supply across the country and pharmacists face a “desperate” fight to obtain the life-saving drugs.
Nearly eight million Britons rely on statins to lower their cholesterol levels, which in turn reduces the risk of heart attacks and strokes.
But atorvastatin, the most popular statin prescribed by the NHS, is not available in many pharmacies across the country.
Community Pharmacy England, the representative body for pharmacy owners, raised the alarm after its members warned they were unable to access supplies of the daily tablet.
“They are desperately trying to get hold of limited stocks,” a spokesman added.
Nearly eight million Britons rely on statins to lower their cholesterol levels, which in turn reduces the risk of heart attacks and strokes.
The shortage has caused prices to soar, with the cost of a packet of atorvastatin rising from 49p to around £5.30 in the last six weeks. This means that many pharmacies cannot afford to buy the drug, although the NHS will ultimately reimburse them.
The shortage has caused prices to soar, with the cost of a packet of atorvastatin rising from 49p to around £5.30 in the last six weeks. This means that many pharmacies cannot afford to buy the medicine, although the NHS will ultimately reimburse them.
“This is an incredibly frustrating situation for patients and pharmacists,” said Leyla Hannbeck, executive director of the Association of Independent Multiple Pharmacies. ‘Patients are prescribed a specific statin, so it’s not as if a pharmacist could just dispense an alternative: patients have to go back to their GP for a new prescription. This delays the time it takes for patients to access a critical drug.”
Britain has been battling a drug shortage crisis for more than a year. In February, The Mail on Sunday revealed that a record number of 70 commonly taken medicines were temporarily out of stock, including antibiotics, HRT drugs and pain relievers.
This shortage has been linked in the past to increased demand for medicines. But the scramble to get atorvastatin is believed to be due to the slow pace with which the drugs clear customs into the UK.
“This has always been a very popular drug, so there hasn’t been an increase in demand,” Ms. Hannbeck said.
‘Clearly there is something very wrong with the supply chain of drugs coming into this country.
“It’s a mess that is costing taxpayers money and the government needs to fix it.”
