New supply skirts med shortage

New Zealand has avoided running out of oxycodone thanks to a gargantuan effort to replace it with a product from overseas after previous supplier Mundipharma pulled out of the country.

Replacing the supply was difficult due to restrictions on oxycodone as a controlled drug, but WellMed, which partners with pharmaceutical companies to supply drugs into New Zealand, delivered a new supply of immediate release oxycodone tablets before falling stock levels affected prescriptions.

"This achievement, accomplished in record time, was made possible through collaboration with Pharmac," WellMed General Manager, Nick Leach, told Pharma in Focus. "In March this year, WellMed.NZ, along with its partners at Amneal, worked diligently to meet all controlled drug requirements to ensure the product's availability in New Zealand by July 1st."