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Drug shortage in Saudi Arabia was mostly common in drugs that are more expensive outside Saudi Arabia: A retrospective database analysis
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  • Turki Althunian,
  • Mohammad A. Alowairdhi,
  • Fatimah H. Alhussain,
  • Maha I. Alomran,
  • Ohoud A. Almadani,
  • Norah A. Alkhammash,
  • Shayma F. Alyabes,
  • Sultan A. Alharbi,
  • Esraa A. Almudaiheem,
  • Reem A. Alhaider,
  • Sara A. Alhassan,
  • Zainab A. Almuallem,
  • Nuha Algain,
  • Abdulaziz O. Alshehri,
  • Thamir Alshammari
Turki Althunian
Saudi Food and Drug Authority

Corresponding Author:[email protected]

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Mohammad A. Alowairdhi
Saudi Food and Drug Authority
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Fatimah H. Alhussain
Saudi Food and Drug Authority
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Maha I. Alomran
Saudi Food and Drug Authority
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Ohoud A. Almadani
Saudi Food and Drug Authority
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Norah A. Alkhammash
Saudi Food and Drug Authority
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Shayma F. Alyabes
Saudi Food and Drug Authority
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Sultan A. Alharbi
Saudi Food and Drug Authority
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Esraa A. Almudaiheem
Saudi Food and Drug Authority
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Reem A. Alhaider
Saudi Food and Drug Authority
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Sara A. Alhassan
Saudi Food and Drug Authority
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Zainab A. Almuallem
Saudi Food and Drug Authority
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Nuha Algain
Saudi Food and Drug Authority
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Abdulaziz O. Alshehri
Saudi Food and Drug Authority
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Thamir Alshammari
Riyadh Elm University
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Abstract

Purpose: Studies suggested that drug pricing might be a risk factor for drug shortage; however, a few provided a quantitative assessment of this possible causal association. This study aimed to assess whether drug prices are associated with drug shortage incidents. Methods: This was a retrospective database analysis study. Drugs with shortage notifications (one drug per notification) that were sent to the Saudi Food and Drug Authority (SFDA) from Jan/2017 to Dec/2020 by different stakeholders were included in the study. For each drug, the foreign-to-Saudi-price ratio (FTSPR) was calculated (FTSPR= mean international price/Saudi price). Accordingly, drugs were split into three groups: Group 1 (FTSPR >1]), Group 2 (FTSPR =1]), and Group 3 (FTSPR <1]). The primary outcomes were the ratio of mean counts (mCR) between the three groups with Group 3 chosen as a control group. The study outcomes were analyzed using a negative binomial regression model adjusting for the measured confounders. All study analyses were conducted using RSudio Version 1.2.5033. Results: A total of 900 drugs were included (Group 1=348, Group 2=345, Group 3=209). The mean count of Group 1 higher was higher than Group 3 (mCR: 1.88; 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.24 to 2.83), while and mean counts of Group 2 vs. Group 3 were comparable (mCR: 1.39; 95%CI 0.92 to 2.09). Conclusions: The results of our study showed that shortage was associated with drugs that are more expensive outside Saudi Arabia. Additional international studies are needed to explore this causal association.