By Ben Hirschler LONDON (Reuters) – Philip Aubrey buys medicines for British government-funded hospitals across London, capital of the world's fifth-largest economy, but last year he struggled to secure supplies of a basic AIDS drug. Shortages of essential drugs, mostly generic medicines whose patents have long expired, are becoming increasing frequent globally, prompting the World Health Organization (WHO) to suggest minimum prices may be needed to keep some products on the market. Drug shortages are due to a variety of factors from manufacturing, quality and raw material problems to unexpected spikes in demand, but such upsets are aggravated when there are few suppliers.
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Drug shortages prompt question: are some medicines too cheap?