What happens when a pharmaceutical company decides to stop making lifesaving medication because its no longer profitable enough?
Since May this year, the health department has had to ration how many injection pens filled with human insulin, for the treatment of diabetes, it can give to each clinic and hospital.
An injection pen consists of a pre-filled tube of insulin set in a plastic casing. A dial for measuring a dose is at the back of the casing and a single-use needle is fitted at the front. The pens are easy to use because they make a click sound as the dial is turned past marked numbers on the tube to measure the right dose.
The health departments predicament is because the pharmaceutical company Novo Nordisk , who have been supplying stock for the past three years, didnt put in a bid for a new three-year contract for the treatment, which was to start in May.
When Bhekisisa asked about the companys reason, vice president and general manager for the South African operation, Sara Norcross, cited capacity limitations .
