Loniten, a treatment indicated for severe high blood pressure, has been in short supply for several months. Margot Roig, head of community pharmacies at the Official College of Pharmacists of Zaragoza, tells ARAGÓN DIGITAL that some doctors have prescribed the drug as a treatment for “baldness” rather than for hypertension. “The shortage has occurred because production was geared toward the consumption or use of patients with hypertension, not hair loss,” the pharmacist explains.
The active ingredient in Loniten is minoxidil, a component that is effective in slowing hair loss. For patients with baldness problems, doctors would usually prescribe a compounded formula in which the amount of minoxidil was adjusted to the patient’s needs. However, Roig says this formula is up to “three or four times more expensive” than the cost of Loniten (6.35 euros), as the medication is funded by the Aragon Health Service.
“I think many doctors have said, well, if this medication also exists, let’s prescribe it because it saves the patient money, even though it is not indicated for that use,” the professional says. The medication is unlikely to become available again until the end of the year, although these are “approximate” figures.
Despite the Loniten shortage, this supply problem is not “so serious,” the spokesperson says, since there are other formulas for treating hypertension. That said, it is the only drug containing minoxidil. “It does not have the impact Ozempic may have had, because there were many diabetic patients with prescriptions for that medication who were left without their treatment.”
As on other occasions, the main problem is that patients who were accustomed to taking Loniten “have been left without their medication”: “When medicines are used for indications they were not intended for, you cause a serious problem for the patient who genuinely needs them because their condition was under control with that medication,” Margot Roig explains.
The pharmacist reminds patients affected by this shortage that they must see their primary care doctor so they can be prescribed another medication for hypertension.
