Drugstore shelves have been lately empty of Metypred tablets, a popular brand for the steroid drug methylprednisolone, which is used treat a wide range of conditions from allergies to arthritis to autoimmune diseases. While buyers complain that they have been unable to find Metypred at drugstores in the last couple of months, a fact confirmed by pharmacists, the Medicines Agency claims the opposite, saying that pharmacies have continued to import the drug and that it is available for sale. Alexandru Cojuhari, the representative of a large drugstore chain in Chisinau, has told Info-Prim Neo that, whereas in early January the manufacturer was selling the drug at 2.12 euros, in April the Moldovan agency responsible for registering drug prices capped the price at which Metypred can be imported at 0.8 euro. “But the manufacturer is not a charitable organization. It naturally pursues profits. In this case, the production costs exceed the price set by the agency, meaning that the manufacturer is no longer interested in marketing the drug in our country”, explained Cojuhari. He revealed that Metypred, which is manufactured by the Helsinki-based company Orion, sells the lowest in Poland, for 2.02 euros, and its average price in the CIS countries is roughly 3 euros. Alexandru Cojuhari went on to add that he repeatedly wrote to the Drug Price Registration Service, but all his petitions remained unanswered. Other pharmaceutical companies also confirmed that the drug was missing both in stocks and on shelves. Contacted by Info-Prim Neo, Ludmila Bumacov, deputy head of the Medicines Agency, denied that Metypred was no longer for sale at drugstores. “At those drugstores where it is missing, it just hasn't been ordered. But this doesn't mean that it has completely disappeared from the market”, said Bumacov. Specialists say that Metypred, which is often used to treat serious autoimmune diseases, needs to be administrated for longer periods to achieve the best effects and that replacing it could have unwanted consequences.