Iran faces shortage of psychiatric medications

The President of the Iranian Psychiatric Association, Seyyed Vahid Shariat, has reported a significant shortage of psychiatric medications across Iran. While foreign-made psychiatric drugs have been unavailable for some time, the current crisis primarily affects domestically produced medications.

Shariat noted that the shortage is largely driven by the domestic industry's dependence on imported raw materials. This scarcity forces patients to switch medications or discontinue treatment, which can lead to the recurrence of mental health conditions and increased psychological distress.

Specific medications reported as unavailable or in limited supply include antidepressants such as venlafaxine, duloxetine, sertraline, and mirtazapine. There is also a critical lack of long-acting antipsychotics, including several injectable forms, and anti-anxiety medications like buspirone. Other affected drugs include perphenazine, trifluoperazine, fluoxetine, and nortriptyline. Notably, clomipramine, which has no direct substitute for patients with treatment-resistant obsessive-compulsive disorder, is also in short supply.