Pharmaceutical industry

US pharmaceutical company Pfizer has agreed to extend its contract with the European Union for the vaccine against COVID-19 from 2023 to 2026, the Financial Times reported, citing sources familiar with the matter.

Labena, a Ljubljana-based family-run business, is launching a new platform to link start-up companies and disruptive ideas with venture capital and investment funds in medicine, biotechnology and the food and pharmaceutical industries. More than €100 million will be available, with applications expected from 14 March.

In 1937, an American drug company introduced an elixir to treat strep throat - and unwittingly set off a public health disaster. The product, which had not been tested in humans or animals, contained a solvent that turned out to be toxic. More than 100 people died.

Some 3.1 million boxes of syrup-form antibiotics used in childhood infections, which have experienced difficulties in supply, have been supplied to the market as of Jan. 30, Health Minister Fahrettin Koca.

The recent shortage of drugs experienced by pharmacies across the country will be resolved in the coming weeks, as the production of drugs with high consumption will be increased significantly, Health Minister Fahrettin Koca has pledged.

The Financial Crimes Unit has identified a Greek branch of a global racket trafficking counterfeit drugs and doping substances, making deliveries to the US and more than 15 countries.

The national pharmaceuticals agency EOF has warned that certain named "preparations" for men being sold on the internet without a license can "seriously endanger the health of consumers."

The agency named the products as "Epimedyumlu Bitkisel Karışımlı Macun" or "Epimedium Macun," which are sold as natural products in the form of jam or paste.

Some of the medicines missing in the pharmacy network in Bulgaria - antibiotics and antiviral preparations - are arriving. New supplies are expected at the beginning of next week, said Arkadi Sharkov, a health economist from EKIP and an advisor to the Ministry of Health.

The president of the EOF, Dimitris Filippou, "foresees" the normalization of the drug market in the next ten days, as he stated on ERT channel on Monday.

Greece announced on Wednesday additional measures to deal with certain drug shortages, a problem it said was global and attributed to an increase in seasonal virus infections, supply chain issues, the energy crisis and reduced exports from Asia.