Fischbach is one of the signatories of an open letter from paediatricians in Germany, France, Austria and Switzerland as well as the northern Italian region of South Tyrol. It is addressed to their respective health ministries.

“The health of our children and adolescents is endangered throughout Europe by the lack of medicines. A fast, reliable and lasting solution is urgently needed!” the letter states.

Fischbach told dpa that the letter had reached German Health Minister Karl Lauterbach as well as the members of the health committee of the Bundestag, or parliament.

Health insurers blamed the pharmaceutical industry for the shortages.

“There was a common trust in the pharmaceutical industry that, in case of doubt, it would secure supplies for patients. This trust has now been shaken,” said Florian Lanz, the spokesman for the National Association of Statutory Health Insurance Funds.

According to Germany’s Health Ministry, the causes of supply bottlenecks for medicines are manifold, including “bottlenecks in raw materials” or “production problems,” for example.

Health Minister Lauterbach (Social Demokrats) said Saturday that the concerns of paediatricians were justified, in a post on Twitter, and referred to a corresponding law to combat the shortages, introduced by the government earlier this month.

However, it has not yet been passed by parliament.

The legislation is intended to enable manufacturers to charge higher prices for children’s medicines in Germany, so that deliveries to the country are more profitable.

In the case of important medicines, there are also plans to make it compulsory to keep stocks for several months. And in the case of antibiotics, manufacturers based in Europe are to be given more of a chance.

This is justified in the explanatory memorandum to the law with the fact that for certain medicines containing antibiotics, more than 60% of the active ingredients are now produced in Asia, compared to 30% 20 years ago. The new regulation is intended to reduce dependencies and provide more stability.

According to the German Foundation for Patient Protection, the medication shortage extends far beyond children’s medicines. “Everywhere, chronically ill people suffer from the slow supply of basic medicines. Blood lipid reducers, blood pressure medicines, even cancer medicines are in short supply,” executive director Eugen Brysch told dpa. The previous national and European measures were not sufficient to ensure patient care, he added.