“This list of critical drugs will be established by experts in the pharmaceutical and medical field and will be validated by the partners”, explained Manuel Pizarro, underlining: “With regard to each of the products on this list, we will take special measures to ensure that these (…) cannot be scarce in pharmacies”.

The Minister of Health, who was speaking to journalists in Lisbon, at the end of the commemorative session of Infarmed's 30th anniversary, specified that this list "will help to monitor the risk", but stressed that, for the time being, "there is no shortage of anything essential”.

“Having such a list will allow for more careful and attentive monitoring,” he insisted.

The minister underlined that the Portuguese industry, or that is based in Portugal, “exported more than 2,000 million euros in the health area”, mostly medicines, but recalled that Portugal continues to have a “very deficit” trade balance.

“We continue to import much more medicine than we export and, therefore, it is also necessary to invest in the national industry to improve this economy in the area of health”, he insisted.