Greece must strengthen controls on pharmaceutical exports and improve monitoring of medicine stocks to address persistent shortages, speakers said at PHARMA point 2026, a pharmaceutical conference and exhibition held in Thessaloniki on 10 and 11 October.
The Pharmaceutical Association of Thessaloniki organised the event under the auspices of pharmacy departments at Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens and the University of Patras, alongside the Panhellenic Pharmaceutical Association, the Hellenic Red Cross and the Institute for Lifelong Education and Professional Development of Pharmacists.
Speakers identified two major causes of shortages: pharmaceutical companies deliberately reducing the quantities they supply to pharmacies, and so-called “fake” pharmaceutical wholesalers that collect medicines from other wholesalers and focus exclusively on exports.
They argued that authorities should inspect pharmaceutical companies and wholesalers in advance to establish available stock levels and ensure that domestic patient needs take priority over exports.
Parallel exports contribute to medicine shortages
Dionysios Evgenidis, president of the Pharmaceutical Association of Thessaloniki, described medicine shortages as a longstanding, complex problem affecting both patients and pharmacists.
“Medicines are cheap in our country, and this creates the problem of parallel exports,” Evgenidis said. He explained that the practice reduces the availability of certain medicines from multinational pharmaceutical companies, which supply Greece in limited and insufficient quantities.
He stressed the need for an effective solution, particularly through tighter controls on parallel exports.
Apostolos Valtas, president of the Panhellenic Pharmaceutical Association, called medicine shortages the biggest problem facing Greek pharmacies.
Valtas criticised companies that deliberately reduce supplies, arguing that they cannot use the fact that medicines are exported as a justification for supplying pharmacies with substantially smaller quantities than in previous years.
He also criticised companies for failing to maintain three months’ worth of stock and to cover 25% of the monthly demand for medicines, as he described the required supply levels.
Pharmacists call for stricter export monitoring
Valtas discussed Greece’s electronic system for monitoring medicine distribution, known as HSPaDiF. He said the system records the medicines each company sends to wholesalers or pharmacies but does not adequately control whether wholesalers have enough stock to meet domestic demand before exporting medicines.
He called for each pharmaceutical wholesaler to declare its intended exports and for authorities to assess the wholesaler’s overall consumption and domestic requirements.
“If the demand for a particular medicine is 100 units, for example, and you have 120, you can export the remaining 20. But if demand is 80 and you have only 80, exports should be prohibited,” Valtas said, explaining the approach he wants authorities to adopt.
He added that the association had already raised the issue with the president of Greece’s National Organisation for Medicines (EOF) and intended to bring it to the health minister’s attention.
More high-cost medicines may become available through private pharmacies
The PHARMA point 2026 conference also addressed plans to expand the range of high-cost medicines (FYK) and other treatments available through private pharmacies.
Discussions with the Ministry of Health are under way, speakers said.
The Panhellenic Pharmaceutical Association has also requested permission for pharmacists to submit medicine requests themselves using a unique security code. The proposal aims to help patients who struggle to complete the process independently.
Pharmacy students and pharmacists honoured
During the conference’s opening ceremony, organisers awarded prizes to the two students who achieved the highest admission scores for the Pharmacy Department at Aristotle University of Thessaloniki in 2026. Pharmaceutical company ELPEN sponsored the awards, which its Northern Greece director, Stavros Mavromichalis, presented.
The Pharmaceutical Association of Thessaloniki also awarded scholarships, with support from Piraeus Bank, to children of association members who entered Greek universities in 2026.
The association additionally honoured its members who retired in 2025.
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