Roszdravnadzor responded to reports of a deficit of Atarax
The absence of Atarax in a particular pharmacy does not indicate its deficit, Roszdravnadzor stressed. According to the Ministry, now in the civil circulation is more than 512 thousand packages of such a drug
There is no shortage of drugs with the active substance hydroxyzine, including Atarax, in Russia. This is stated by Roszdravnadzor against the background of publications about the shortage of anti-anxiety drug in some regions.
Currently, more than 1.06 million packages of drugs with the international non-proprietary name hydroxyzine are in civilian circulation, of which more than 512 thousand packages account for Atarax, the rest are produced by Russian manufacturers.
“The volume of production, supply and commissioning of drugs with INN hydroxyzine correspond to the average annual level of previous years,” the report said. The Ministry noted that the absence of Atarax in a particular pharmacy does not indicate a shortage of the drug. According to the labeling system, pharmacies in Moscow have 89.1 thousand packages of hydroxyzine, including 65.5 thousand packages of Atarax, more than 21 thousand packages are in the warehouses of distributors and manufacturers.
In St. Petersburg, there are 16.1 thousand packages of hydroxyzine in pharmacies, of which 4 thousand are Atarax, more than 30 thousand packages are in warehouses.
Atarax is the trade name for a hydroxyzine-based drug produced by the Belgian pharmaceutical company UCB Pharma. It has an anti-anxiety and sedative effect, is used including in anxiety conditions, as well as to reduce itching in allergic diseases. The drug is dispensed by prescription.
The fact that Atarax and other drugs with hydroxyzine regularly enter the Russian market, also earlier reported the Ministry of Industry and Trade. As of October, there are more than 1.26 million packages of drugs with this active substance, including more than 500 thousand packages of Atarax, the ministry assured. In the near future, another 720 thousand packages of Atarax and 165 thousand packages of the drug Hydroxysin are expected, the Ministry of Industry and Trade added.
Earlier, a number of telegram channels, including Mash and “Beware, Moscow”, wrote about the shortage of the drug. According to the latter, it is impossible to buy Atarax in nine out of ten large pharmacy chains in Moscow.
