Former chief pharmaceutical officer concerned about lack of government policy on critical medicines stockpiling

Keith Ridge, former chief pharmaceutical officer for England, has raised concerns that there is no explicit government policy around the stockpiling of critical medicines.

Giving evidence at a House of Lords Public Services Committee session on medicines security, held on 15 October 2025, Ridge, now a non-executive director at the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE), noted: “Overall, there are some significant risks generated by the fact that the government have taken a no-stockholding policy.”

He added that while Cabinet Office documents on medicine supply “do point out supply chains in general”, they “do not specify that the medicines supply chain has a risk”.

“Germany has six months’ supply at stockholding and manufacturer level, and France are doing something similar,” Ridge said.

Suppliers to secondary care are contracted to have an eight-week buffer stock of medicines.

In a policy paper, ‘Managing a robust and resilient supply of medicines‘, published in August 2025, the Department for Health and Social Care (DHSC) said: “Most suppliers are compliant [with the eight-week buffer], but we are continuously seeking to improve this to a 100% compliance rate.

“We will issue communications to all relevant suppliers to reinforce the need to oblige and are exploring the potential use of spot audits to drive compliance further.”

In a report published in November 2024, the Royal Pharmaceutical Society said: “Just-in-time supply chains can exacerbate supply issues, and a lack of visibility into stock levels in primary care hampers collaboration to manage shortages effectively.”

The report also noted that secondary care can access data on stockholding at a local, regional or national level; however, independent contractors in primary care buy their own stock using a range of digital systems.

“As a result, there is no accessible visibility of stock beyond the wholesale level (including what stock is available at individual community pharmacies) that allows for coordinated mitigation activities in primary care,” it said.

During the evidence session, Ridge said: “There is a case for re-introducing something like the Falsified Medicines Directive (FMD) across the UK — but as part of a supply chain digitisation process.

“If you look at the range of automation which can be deployed in hospitals and elsewhere, the data there, together with data which sits at wholesaler level and at manufacturer level, could be brought together.

“And that barcode which would be on a pack is probably central to all of it. A new form of the FMD is important in my view.”

The FMD came into effect across the EU on 9 February 2019, with mandatory safety features on medicines packs, including a 2D barcode.

The previous government committed to a UK version of the scheme and promised a consultation; however, this has not yet begun.

A spokesperson for the DHSC said: “The UK has developed a comprehensive approach to medicines supply chain resilience that differs from some other countries’ reliance on nationally-held stockpiles — these are more targeted and effective measures.

“We maintain strategic stockpiles, specifically in planning and preparation for emergencies, that require a public health response, such as pandemics. For more routine supply disruptions, we have a range of resilience measures that include early warning systems and supporting domestic manufacturing capacity.”