For two months, parents and caregivers across Canada have faced a shortage of children’s pain and fever medication. This shortage is placing additional stress on families and on the health system, as more Albertans are visiting pharmacies, physicians and hospitals. To ensure children’s pain and fever medication is readily available across the province and bring relief to children and families, Alberta’s government and Alberta Health Services have secured a supply of five million units of acetaminophen and ibuprofen from Atabay Pharmacueticals and Fine Chemicals.
Alberta’s government and Alberta Health Services are working with Health Canada on completing the drug establishment licensing approval process.
Once the approval is granted, the medication will be delivered to Alberta over 10 air shipments. As soon as the medication arrives in the province, it will be distributed to community and retail pharmacies so that parents and caregivers can purchase it for their children.
Because Alberta’s government has secured so many bottles of the pain and fever medication, it is expected that Albertans will be able to find it on pharmacy shelves in the same way they have previously found name-brand medicines. However, individual pharmacies will have the ability to issue the medicine from behind the counter if they are concerned about their store’s supply.
The medication will be manufactured at a Health Canada-approved facility overseas. Packaging will follow Health Canada guidelines. The retail cost to the consumer will be in line with the average cost for this type of medication. Drugs imported to Canada must meet safety, quality and efficacy regulations set out by Health Canada in order to be authorized for import.
Many western countries already import products from Atabay, including:
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- United States of America
- United Kingdom
- Germany
- Netherlands
- France
- Switzerland
- Italy
- Poland
Atabay Pharmaceutical Factory is located in Turkey. It was founded in Instanbul by Mr. O. Kemalettin Atabay in 1939 before the outbreak of the Second World War.
