America Is Having Yet Another Drug Shortage. Here’s Why It Keeps Happening.

America Is Having Yet Another Drug Shortage. Here’s Why It Keeps Happening.
By Emily Tucker, PhD
New York Times
December 6, 2023
The American Society of Health-System Pharmacists found this summer that nearly all of the members it surveyed were experiencing drug shortages, which generally affect half a million Americans. Cancer patients have scrambled as supplies of chemotherapy drugs dwindle. ... Over half of the shortages documented this summer by health consulting firm IQVIA had persisted for more than two years. But even though drug shortages affect millions of Americans, policymakers and industry leaders have provided little to no long-term relief for people in need. ... The people who are most affected by supply chain vulnerabilities—patients—are also those with least say in the choice to buy from reliable manufacturers. ... Legislative action is the only real way to ensure the availability of essential medications. After 20 years of drug shortages, it seems clear that markets alone are not the solution. And there are a few specific ways Congress should address drug shortages. The first is to ensure better quality drug manufacturing. Modernizing manufacturing facilities would make them more reliable and prevent shortages. The second is to improve the adaptability of drug manufacturing itself. Manufacturers should be able to switch quickly to alternative facilities or to increase production when demand unexpectedly increases. The last is to maintain buffer inventory of essential medications within our health care system.