Once again there is a lack of antibiotics and medicines for children

Es is not the first time in the past few weeks and months that medication has been missing. But the situation in Germany is currently coming to a head again. Antibiotics, of all things, are missing – medicines that can only be described with superlatives. They are among the most important and most prescribed drugs of all and, in the worst case, can make the difference between life and death. Because contrary to what their name in Greek suggests (anti=against, bios=life), antibiotics can save lives. At least for humans, by killing disease-causing microorganisms or inhibiting their growth.

This is best known in Kundl, Austria. There, the subsidiary of the Swiss pharmaceutical company Novartis, Sandoz, has been producing antibiotics for decades. Last November, the company announced it would invest millions more into manufacturing to increase capacity there.