Deputy director-general of health (pharmaceutical services) Dr Azuana Ramli said the government was continuously monitoring the situation to ensure that medication stocks nationwide stay stable.
“Now we have a task force consisting of ministry officials and industry representatives. We are discussing this issue and monitoring stock levels together,” she said during Bernama TV’s Ruang Bicara programme titled National Drug Supply Security.
Azuana said that under this mechanism, industry partners provide stock level information, allowing the ministry to detect possible supply disruptions ahead of time.
“We can see which critical stocks are at risk, such as those with only 60 to 90 days of supply left in the chain. Once we identify the problematic stocks, we can take action,” she added.
Regarding insulin supply, Azuana said the treatment of diabetes patients remained unaffected, given the wide range of therapies and alternative medications available.
“Even if there is a shortage of insulin, diabetes patients can continue their treatment, as they can switch to insulin analogs or tablet medications,” she said.
“That is why the supply of medications remains stable and under control. There may be some supply chain disruptions, but we will take mitigation steps to ensure that patients receive treatment by any means necessary.”
Meanwhile, Medical Device Authority (MDA) CEO Dr P Muralitharan said the supply of medical devices in Malaysia remained sufficient and under control for now, despite the ongoing conflict in West Asia.
However, he said MDA was monitoring the situation closely, as several categories of devices had begun to experience slight shortages.
“Among the affected devices are in-vitro diagnostic products such as test kits and laboratory reagents. However, the shortage levels are not significant.
“This minor disruption also involves consumables like gloves, face masks, implants, surgical devices, and materials for hemodialysis treatment,” he said during Bernama TV’s Ruang Bicara programme titled SAP: Accelerating Supply to Ensure Safety.
He said the special access pathway (SAP) allows suppliers to gain faster access to medical devices, thereby strengthening the local medical device supply chain.
The SAP is an interim approach that permits the use of devices that have yet to be fully registered, subject to strict quality and safety assessments.
“This measure also aims to reduce the nation’s reliance on imported medical devices,” he said.