In the autumn of 2022, there was a clear increase in residual reports and the Medical Products Agency is now describing a situation in which the increase has stopped and »a plateau« in the first quarter of 2023. Calculated per month, the remaining reports since the increase last autumn are between 200 and 250 parcels.

Over the first quarter of 2023, 681 packages were reported as remainder to the Medicines Agency, which emphasizes that alternative medicines were usually available and that these were often short-term residual situations. The amount of infections during the winter is shown by the residual statistics, which include periodic shortages of antipyretics and some antibiotics.

But the world situation is also important.

– Like other industries, the pharmaceutical supply is also affected by the increased uncertainty in the outside world with inflation and higher prices for energy and shipping, for example, said Johan Andersson, head of department of the Swedish Medicines Agency, in a press release

The authority emphasizes that the situation in Europe is similar, but that the situation causes problems for healthcare and pharmacy staff.

– The Swedish Medicines Agency is actively following and monitoring the global situation. We work both to prevent shortage situations and to alleviate the consequences of a shortage, says Johan Andersson.