{"id":578073,"date":"2023-06-10T13:00:00","date_gmt":"2023-06-10T10:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/en.buradabiliyorum.com\/chemotherapy-shortages-push-cancer-centers-toward-crisis\/"},"modified":"2023-06-10T13:00:00","modified_gmt":"2023-06-10T10:00:00","slug":"chemotherapy-shortages-push-cancer-centers-toward-crisis","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/chemotherapy-shortages-push-cancer-centers-toward-crisis\/","title":{"rendered":"#Chemotherapy shortages push cancer centers toward crisis"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/thehill.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2023\/06\/chemotherapy_cancer_052517_AP_GerryBroome.jpg?w=900\" \/><\/p>\n<div>\n<p>Cancer centers are contending with shortages of key chemotherapy drugs, with potentially dire consequences once the scarcity starts hitting patients.<\/p>\n<p>A new <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nccn.org\/home\/news\/newsdetails?NewsId=3970\">survey<\/a> released this week by the National Comprehensive Cancer Network (NCCN) found that 93 percent of cancer centers are reporting shortages of carboplatin and 70 percent are reporting shortages of cisplatin. These two drugs are commonly used together to treat a wide variety of cancers \u2014 including breast, lung, prostate and many types of leukemias \u2014 often with the aim of curing them.<\/p>\n<aside class=\"ad-unit ad-unit--mr1_ab\"><\/aside>\n<p>The survey conducted in May found that cancer centers were still able to treat patients with cisplatin without delays or claim denials, but only 64 percent of centers were able to keep patients on a regime of carboplatin. A fifth of cancer centers said they were able to continue prescribing carboplatin for some but not all of their patients.<\/p>\n<p>According to Mike Ganio, director of pharmacy practice and quality for the American Society of Health-System Pharmacists (ASHP), the U.S. is seeing \u201ca near-10 year high in active ongoing shortages\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Much of the current shortages stem from a major interruption in manufacturing that occurred when a facility in India, run by Intas Pharmaceuticals, halted production in March after the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) discovered a \u201ccascade of failures\u201d in the plant\u2019s quality control.<\/p>\n<p>The FDA issued an <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.fda.gov\/media\/169115\/download\">import alert<\/a> to the facility last week, stating all future shipments originating from the facility would be denied admission into the U.S. except for 24 drugs that are in short supply, including carboplatin and cisplatin.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThese are critical oncology medicines,\u201d Alyssa Schatz, senior director of policy and advocacy for NCCN, said.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI think the good <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/news\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"2\" title=\"News\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">news<\/a> is that there are safe alternatives in many cases, but NCCN is concerned that a lack of guidance and clarification from payers on how those drugs will be covered with or without prior authorization can cause harmful delays in care,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n<aside class=\"ad-unit ad-unit--mr2_ab\"><\/aside>\n<p>Schatz noted that when cancer care was disrupted during the pandemic, insurance companies responded by providing flexibilities with telehealth and releasing guidance on coverage when it came to oral equivalents of chemotherapy that could be sent through the mail.<\/p>\n<p>To help with the current chemotherapy shortages, she said insurance providers must provide this same type of response, providing clear guidance on waiving prior authorization for chemotherapy alternatives.<\/p>\n<p>The shortages of these critical medications has caught the attention of Congress with Democratic Sens. Dick Durbin (Ill.), Debbie Stabenow (Mich.), Gary Peters (Mich.) and Rep. Elissa Slotkin (D-Mich.) recently <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.hsgac.senate.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/230525_Peters-Stabenow-Slotkin-Letter-to-FDA_DrugShortages.pdf\">calling<\/a> on the FDA to take im<a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/social-mediaa\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"1\" title=\"Social Media\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">media<\/a>te action, such as importing chemotherapy drugs and alternative treatments from other countries.<\/p>\n<aside class=\"ad-unit ad-unit--mr3_ab\"><\/aside>\n<p>FDA Commissioner Robert Califf <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/download-scripts-themes-apps\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"9\" title=\"Download Scripts &amp; Themes &amp; Apps\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">app<\/a>eared to heed these calls when he <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/DrCaliff_FDA\/status\/1664786509780615170?s=20\">announced<\/a> last week that his agency would to allow the \u201ctemporary importation of certain foreign-approved versions of cisplatin products from FDA-registered facilities.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>The FDA is working with Qilu Pharmaceuticals in China to increase the availability of cisplatin and Canadian pharmaceutical company Apotex to distribute it.<\/p>\n<p>These short term fixes may improve the situation for the time being, but stakeholders warn that drug shortages are an ever-increasing problem that needs to be addressed at the systemic level.<\/p>\n<aside class=\"ad-unit ad-unit--mr4_ab\"><\/aside>\n<p>Schatz cited lower-priced generics as one factor behind drug shortages, albeit in a roundabout way.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cParadoxically, low drug prices are a key driver of this shortage. We often hear about how the US overpays for drugs, but that conversation is primarily related to brand-name drugs,\u201d said Schatz. \u201cGenerics manufacturers operate on a razor thin margin and that can lead to quality and supply issues.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>These margins pressure manufacturers to operate at near-capacity and reduce the number of makers in the market, leaving it vulnerable to shortage when crises occur.<\/p>\n<aside class=\"ad-unit ad-unit--mr5_ab\"><\/aside>\n<p>\u201cWe\u2019re talking about things that have low profit margins. Therefore there\u2019s little incentive to invest in facilities, there\u2019s little incentive for manufacturers to get into manufacturing those products,\u201d Ganio from ASHP said.<\/p>\n<p>Healthcare organizations continue to urge Congress to advance <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.ashp.org\/-\/media\/assets\/news-and-media\/docs\/Healthcare-Supply-Chain-Recommendations\">policies<\/a> that incentivize manufacturers to invest in critical drug production, for cancer and other diseases, and improve how the Strategic National Stockpile functions and encourage stronger manufacturing quality.<\/p>\n<p>To that end, Reps. Buddy Carter (R-Ga.) and Lisa Blunt Rochester (D-Del.) reintroduced the Essential Medicines Strategic Stockpile Act earlier this year. The bill would direct federal agencies to develop a stockpile of 50 generic drugs at risk of shortage that could supply U.S. patients with their medicines for six months.<\/p>\n<aside class=\"ad-unit ad-unit--mr6_ab\"><\/aside>\n<p>While this bill would not address the root cause of shortages, it would provide the market with a supply of drugs while a disruption to the supply chain was addressed, experts told The Hill.<\/p>\n<p>In a <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/bera.house.gov\/uploadedfiles\/letter_to_fda_on_ongoing_oncology_drug_shortages_final.pdf\">letter<\/a> to Califf and Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra on Thursday, a bipartisan group of 70 House lawmakers asked the officials how the federal government can improve its oversight and enforcement of pharmaceutical supply chains in light of the chemotherapy shortage.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cPatients, physicians, and pharmacists are often the last to know when an essential drug will no longer be available, yet, are affected by these shortages the most,\u201d they wrote.\u00a0<\/p>\n<aside class=\"ad-unit ad-unit--mr7_ab\"><\/aside>\n<p>\u201cWe strive to ensure patients, physicians, and pharmacists never have to experience shortages of essential medications, but when shortages do occur it is vital that these individuals are made aware as quickly as possible so that they can better prepare.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>Copyright 2023 Nexstar Media Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.<\/p>\n<p><script async src=\"\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<blockquote><p><strong><span style=\"color: #ff6600;\">If you liked the article, do not forget to share it with your friends. Follow us on\u00a0<span style=\"color: #ff0000;\"><a style=\"color: #ff0000;\" href=\"https:\/\/news.google.com\/publications\/CAAqBwgKMLG0nwswvr63Aw\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\">Google News<\/a><\/span>\u00a0too, click on the star and choose us from your favorites.<\/span><\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">For forums sites go to <span style=\"color: #ff9900;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/forum.buradabiliyorum.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Forum.BuradaBiliyorum.Com<\/a><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong>If you want to read more News articles, you can visit our <span style=\"color: #ff9900;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/en.buradabiliyorum.com\/news\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">News category.<\/a><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><span style=\"color: black;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/thehill.com\/policy\/healthcare\/4043094-chemotherapy-shortages-push-cancer-centers-toward-crisis\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Source<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Cancer centers are contending with shortages of key chemotherapy drugs, with potentially dire consequences once the scarcity starts hitting patients. A new survey released this week by the National Comprehensive Cancer Network (NCCN) found that 93 percent of cancer centers are reporting shortages of carboplatin and 70 percent are reporting shortages of cisplatin. These two&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":578074,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/thehill.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2023\/06\/chemotherapy_cancer_052517_AP_GerryBroome.jpg?w=1280","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[70897],"tags":[143865,143866,138819,134353,134661,73014,90482,124783,40445,143867,134345],"class_list":["post-578073","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","tag-cancer-drugs","tag-cancer-treatment","tag-chemotherapy","tag-court-battles","tag-energy-environment","tag-health-care","tag-house","tag-international","tag-media","tag-robert-califf","tag-state-watch"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/578073","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=578073"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/578073\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/578074"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=578073"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=578073"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=578073"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}