InnoGenerics, a large Dutch drug manufacturer, has been declared bankrupt. Minister Ernst Kuipers (Public Health, Welfare and Sport, D66) has Tuesday in a letter inform the House. According to him, the bankruptcy could have consequences for the availability of medicines.
The drug manufacturer produces and packages patent-free medicines in tablet form on behalf of several marketing authorization holders. These are companies that market medicines. InnoGenerics makes medicines for gout, depression, cardiovascular disease, epilepsy and diabetes, among other things.
In most cases of the medicines that the factory produces, there is still sufficient stock for the time being or replacement medicines are available, according to Minister Kuipers. But according to him, it cannot be ruled out that shortages could still arise for some medicines within a few months.
If this happens, the Health and Youth Care Inspectorate (IGJ) can grant permission to import medicines from abroad. This is done via a so-called ‘deficit decision’. With such a decision, wholesalers and pharmacists are allowed to obtain a comparable medicine from other Member States, without having to request permission from the IGJ in advance.
According to Kuipers, the marketing authorization holders must now look for another manufacturer to produce the medicines. It must then meet all quality requirements.
Acquisition
The medicine factory was originally in the hands of the Indian medicine maker Aurobindo, but in 2019 it announced that it no longer saw the possibility of keeping the factory in Leiden open in a profitable manner. With government support, the drug factory remained open.
At the beginning of October of this year, the government was again knocked on the door to keep the company going, says Minister Kuipers in a letter to the House. “None of the parties involved appeared to be willing to invest extra – jointly or alone. The ministries of VWS and EZK have also understood that talks about a possible takeover of InnoGenerics have not led to any results.”