In Cyprus, there has been a serious shortage of the drug methotrexate in recent days. It is used in the treatment of a number of diseases. A large batch of this medicine was damaged in a flood at the Ministry of Health warehouse, and the department was unable to make up for the losses.
The shortage of methotrexate, mainly in the 20 mg injectable form, has caused concern in various categories of patients. We are talking about people suffering from cancer, autoimmune diseases and various types of rheumatic pathologies. Relatives of the patients contacted Politis and reported that methotrexate had disappeared from pharmacies.
In one case, the patient remained without medication for two weeks. The state pharmacy recommended that he use a higher dosage (25 mg), which was contrary to the doctor’s instructions.
The health insurance organization has admitted that in recent days there is indeed a shortage of this drug. A senior employee of the organization, Gnosia Anchiotu, explained that the consignment of medicine was damaged during a flood at the Ministry of Health warehouse.
The health insurance organization asked the manufacturer to send an additional batch, but the request remained unanswered. The organization was then able to locate some methotrexate in Greece. This shipment should be delivered to the island soon.
An official from the Health Insurance Organization noted that the drug itself is “problematic.” It is difficult to buy and deliver to Cyprus. “This product is no longer of commercial interest, so it is difficult to find a supplier. Now it is sold at very low prices, which is why many companies do not want to supply it because it will not bring them much profit,” Akhniotou said.
Methotrexate is a widely used medicine for the treatment of a number of diseases. It is known as an immunomodulatory antirheumatic drug that reduces inflammation in the joints and reduces the activity of the immune system. Patients usually take it in tablet or liquid form, but it can often be given as a subcutaneous injection. Injections may be the most appropriate form of methotrexate administration for juvenile idiopathic arthritis.
The text was prepared based on materials from Politis.
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We talked about the flood at the Ministry of Health warehouse, which destroyed almost a million euros worth of medicines here.
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