Cough syrups, painkillers and fever reducers are in short supply right now. Pharmaceutical wholesaler Michael Kuck explains why that is, how dangerous dependence on China is and what politics must do now.
Mr. Kuck, you are CEO of the pharmaceutical wholesaler Noweda. Your cooperative supplies over 8,000 pharmacies in Germany. Which medicines are particularly scarce at the moment?
We have a large number of defects. That’s what we call it when we can’t fulfill orders. Among the top 20 are mainly fever reducers and painkillers, but also medicines for colds. We could sell 430,000 packs of fever juice if we had them. Normally we have at least the requirements for the next 14 days in stock. We are legally obliged to do this. The fact that we can’t deliver so much now is the ultimate catastrophe. Quite apart from the fates behind it.