Shortages of cancer drugs plague the United States, impacting patient treatment and impeding progress of new therapies, according to a recent survey by the National Comprehensive Cancer Network (NCCN). “Critical drug shortages were not a new problem last year and they continue to be a problem now,” said Crystal S. Denlinger, chief executive officer at NCCN.
“These shortages not only put a burden on patients, caregivers, and providers, but they could also delay vital clinical trials and slow the pace of progress for new cancer therapies.” Several other medications like methotrexate and dacarbazine were also found to be scarce. Many of these drugs make up the “backbones of effective multi-agent regimens” in cancer treatments, NCCN noted.
According to the nonprofit group breastcancer.org, a shortage of cancer drugs is the combined result of the COVID-19 outbreak, ongoing supply chain issues, and financial challenges involved in manufacturing low-cost generic drugs. Two cancer drugs, cisplatin and carboplatin, faced extreme shortage after a main plant producing the generic drugs shut down in India in 2022 following quality issues.
Since the profit margin on these two drugs is low, it becomes harder for producers to manufacture them in the United States, the group said. NCCN pointed out that up to 93 percent of surveyed centers experienced shortages of carboplatin a year ago, with cisplatin shortage in 70 percent of the facilities. In the latest June 2024 survey, this .
