Interruptions in the supply of children’s suppositories with ibuprofen began in Moscow

The children’s anti-inflammatory drug ibuprofen in the form of suppositories (candles), which is included in the list of vital drugs, has disappeared from Moscow pharmacies. This is evidenced by the data of the websites of large pharmacy chains, aggregators and drug search services in the capital.

In particular, such a medicine cannot now be bought on the sites of the Zdravcity and Apteka.ru aggregators (they are owned by large distributorsProtek” and “Quatrain”), as well as in the “Eapteka”. The representative of the latter confirmed that only a suspension with this active substance was available. It was not possible to find ibuprofen in the form of suppositories and in the online catalogs of pharmacies “Melody of Health”, “Pharmacy chain 36.6”, “Rigla” and “Be Healthy”, as well as “Doctor Stoletov” and “Pharmacy Ozerki”. According to the search engine “Aptekamos”, the medicine is only in one pharmacy in the Moscow region.

Interruptions in the supply of the drug are also confirmed by the head physician of the medical center “Leader-Medicine”, pediatric infectious disease specialist Yevgeny Timakov. According to him, the shortage has been observed since the beginning of 2023 due to high demand and low supply in pharmacies. Ibuprofen suppositories are used by children of all ages, including those with disabilities, Timakov says. They are used in cases where the child is not ready to take the drug orally due to nausea or personality traits.