According to the Federal Institute for Drugs and Medical Devices (BfArM), the lack of availability of an HIV drug should “stabilize significantly” in just a few days.
“This results from close coordination between the BfArM and the approval holders Ratiopharm and Heumann, who have now confirmed to the BfArM that they will make significant quantities of goods available to the market at very short notice,” said a BfArM spokesman for the German Press Agency. At the beginning of the week, the BfArM announced that availability would initially only stabilize slightly in February. According to the current plans, supplies should last until at least the end of April and there should be enough medication available to supply users.
The so-called pre-exposure prophylaxis, or Prep for short, protects against HIV infection and is used by tens of thousands of people in Germany. Recently, several manufacturers reported delivery bottlenecks. According to doctors, some users had to interrupt their intake or change their therapy because of this. Aidshilfe warned of “fatal consequences”. The drug is also taken by people who are already infected with HIV.