Elena S. Gaytán/ Reform Agency
Sunday, February 19, 2023 | 06:40
Monterrey Mexico.- Patients who require psychiatric medications in Nuevo León and throughout the country suffer from shortages of clozapine, lithium, methylphenidate, clonazepam and alprazolam, which have been in short supply in the last two months.
This is the most recent case of shortages in the current federal government that has affected, for example, treatments against cancer and HIV, and once again Cofepris, headed by Undersecretary Hugo López-Gatell, is targeted.
Just on Friday, the Mexican Psychiatric Association, the most important in the country, launched an urgent call to solve this shortage of medicines, which are even completely sold out in the main public and private distributors.
“This situation exposes a significant number of people with mental disorders,” the Association warned in a statement. “It raises the risk of serious complications, such as manic episodes, psychotic episodes, and risk of suicide.”
Patients diagnosed with anxiety disorders, bipolar disorder, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, schizophrenia and depression are the most affected.
Psychiatrist Carlos Arnaud, former coordinator of the Nuevo León Chapter of the Association, explained that Cofepris has not concluded a regularization process that it requested from Psicofarma, the pharmaceutical company that produces these drugs in the country.
