Much has been made recently of the growing problem of prescription drug shortages. This has become yet another thing for industry adversaries to criticize. But a new report (“ Drug Shortages: A Closer Look at Products, Suppliers and Volume Volatility ”) from the IMS Institute for Healthcare Informatics sheds light on the topic.
The issue of prescription drug shortages is primarily, and almost exclusively, limited to injectable generic medications. Of products that have had shortage issues, over 80 percent are generic injectables. Oncology products make up 16 percent of drugs with shortages (such as Johnson & Johnson's Doxil which has a waitlist of over 2,700 people). Most of the products that have shortages are manufactured by only 1 or 2 generic manufacturers.
Early warning systems, like the one IMS is advocating, will help predict these shortages in the future. Unfortunately, this won’t actually stop the shortages. It’s unfortunate that government policies have created this situation to begin with.
The issue of prescription drug shortages is primarily, and almost exclusively, limited to injectable generic medications. Of products that have had shortage issues, over 80 percent are generic injectables. Oncology products make up 16 percent of drugs with shortages (such as Johnson & Johnson's Doxil which has a waitlist of over 2,700 people). Most of the products that have shortages are manufactured by only 1 or 2 generic manufacturers.
Early warning systems, like the one IMS is advocating, will help predict these shortages in the future. Unfortunately, this won’t actually stop the shortages. It’s unfortunate that government policies have created this situation to begin with.