SYDNEY, SEPT 9 – Experts warned and called for urgent action today as there is a critical shortage of obstetric drugs that is endangering the health of pregnant women in Australia.
They said so in a publication that reported that shortages of the drugs labetalol, immediate-release nifedipine and misoprostol, used to treat high blood pressure and prevent premature birth, put pregnant women at risk when there is a supply disruption of the drug.
The publication found that supply and access issues stemmed from a number of problems including manufacturing disruptions from factories.
“We are in a dangerous situation where pregnant women are exposed to the whims of market forces,” said Stefan Kane, lead author of the publication and director of the Maternity Service at the Royal Women’s Hospital in Melbourne, in a press release.
“The lack of incentive for pharmaceutical companies to register and maintain the supply of old, off-patent drugs used during pregnancy puts lives in danger,” he said.
To address this problem, the author urges the federal government to establish a dedicated publicly funded entity to register, import and issue critical drugs for use during pregnancy.
In addition, they said that more pregnant women should be included in clinical trials of new drugs.
Amanda Henry, co-author from Sydney’s George Institute for Global Health and the Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (RANZCOG), said that pregnant women were underrepresented in clinical trials.
“The exclusion of pregnant women and women of reproductive age from clinical trials not only puts them at risk but also denies them the right to benefit from medical advances enjoyed by other populations,” he said.
In one example, the authors say that there are more than 50 drugs approved to treat high blood pressure in the general population in Australia, but only six to treat the condition during pregnancy, all of which are over 30 years old.
RANZCOG said it also supported the proposal. – Xinhua
