Overview

• More than 500 medicines are officially listed as hard to obtain, with some declared an actual supply shortage requiring imports.
• Particularly scarce are children’s antibiotic syrups, the asthma drug salbutamol and medications for ADHD, according to ABDA president Thomas Preis.
• Supplies of fever, cold and cough remedies are described as secure for the coming season.
• Preis cites dependence on factories in China and India—plus U.S. dominance in innovative drugs—as a key driver when production problems arise abroad.
• Local pharmacies report mounting economic and bureaucratic pressures, and Preis accuses foreign mail‑order vendors of undercutting German price rules despite past reforms.