The pill against heart attacks, the medicine that is most lacking in Spanish pharmacies

Cafinitrin, the famous pill to prevent a heart attack that is placed under the tongue, is currently the medicine that suffers from the most lack of supply in Spanish pharmacies. , up to 2,060 pharmacies in 51 Spanish provinces have informed this Council that they currently have supply problems with this medicine, marketed in our country by the Catalan laboratory Kern Pharma.

The Spanish Medicines Agency itself, under the Ministry of Health, has reported that the marketing authorization holder is carrying out a controlled distribution of this medicine as there are limited units. According to information from the Medicines Agency, the situation of lack of supply of cafinitrin began in June of last year and will last at least until the end of this March.

The agency also reports that due to the lack of this drug, another version is available, Trinispray, with the same active principle but in its spray form. Cafinitrin is a medicine that is well known to most patients who have suffered angina pectoris or a heart attack and who, from that moment on, always carry it with them.

They are pills that have as active principle solinitrine, a substance derived from nitroglycerin, which produces a dilation of the coronary arteries and which is recommended to be taken, placed under the tongue, in case of pain in the chest, back, arms or symptoms that remind you of how the heart attack or previous angina manifested itself. The cafinitrin box of 20 tablets costs 3.09 euros at the pharmacy.

The affected laboratory explained at the time that the problem with the supply of cafinitrin in Spain was due to the lack of raw materials on the part of the manufacturers of the active ingredients, in this case caffeine. Kern Pharma indicated that it has already found a supplier that guarantees the supply of caffeine, and is waiting for the drug agency in the country of origin to give its authorization for sale in Spain.

Today, with supply problems in our country. Among the ten medications that accumulate the most faults, there are antiplatelet agents -Adiro, from Bayer-, antiemetics -Primperan, from Sanofi Aventis- or analgesics –. Two of these three well-known brands are officially out of stock, while Sanofi Aventis’s anti-vomiting drug is in widespread shortage in all provinces.

emergency meeting

Faced with this situation, the Ministry of Health and the autonomous communities will meet this Friday to address the supply problems of 274 medicines, although, according to the Spanish Agency for Medicines and Health Products (Aemps), the situation “is under control”.

The Department headed by María Luisa Carcedo has summoned the regional health officials to try to deal with this restriction. The employers’ associations Farmaindustria (brands) and Aeseg (generics), the General Council of Pharmacists and the Platform of Patient Organizations will also attend the meeting.