WASHINGTON — Children’s medicines, antibiotics and ADHD remedies are among the many drugs in short supply in recent months. New report released Wednesday.
Shortages of new drugs increased nearly 30% from 2021 to 2022, according to a report produced by Democrats on the Senate Homeland Security and Government Affairs Committee.
“These shortages have peaked at 295 medicine shortages at the end of 2022, as health professionals grapple with limited resources to treat patients in need,” a report Wednesday said. In his opening remarks at the hearing highlighting the findings of the
Shortages are driven by economic factors, reliance on foreign sources, and lack of visibility into drug supply chains, the report said.
“Taken together, these underlying causes not only pose serious concerns in providing adequate care to patients, but also represent serious national security risks,” the hearing said Wednesday. Scheduled for 10:30 am standard time.
The commission’s report highlights that neither the federal government nor the pharmaceutical industry has the ability to assess the entire supply chain, from starting material to final dosage, purchasers and providers. Many drug makers have moved abroad over the past decades as foreign governments offer tax and logistical incentives and deregulation, the report said. increase.
Shortages of more than 15 basic life-saving medicines have persisted for more than a decade, the report found, mostly injectables, more than twice as likely as oral or topical drugs. has become Nearly a third of these critical medicines in short supply are antibiotics, which are used to prevent and treat bacterial infections.
Propofol, a sterile injectable sedative often given to patients before surgery by anesthesiologists, is currently in short supply and has “repeated shortages” over the past 15 years, the report said. This was a result of manufacturing delays, companies exiting the market and unprecedented demand during the Covid-19 pandemic.
Part of the problem is that 90% to 95% of generic sterile injectable drugs rely on starting material from China and India, the report cited the federal agency Strategic Preparedness and Response. said.
In his opening remarks, Peters will say that the United States’ over-reliance on foreign suppliers, particularly those from China, “continues to be an unacceptable national security risk.”
Shortages of these medicines lead to delays in patient care, healthcare providers relying on sometimes less effective alternative treatments, and medication errors. Some patients, including cancer patients, face a shortage of alternative medicines.
Peters warns that agencies such as the Food and Drug Administration cannot adequately predict drug shortages due to the lack of federal oversight of the supply chain and limited data sharing between the government and the pharmaceutical industry. increase.
The Committee recommends that Congress request the Departments of Defense, Homeland Security, and Health and Human Services to conduct supply chain risk assessments of drug shortages and identify potential national security concerns. increase.
Peters is working on legislation to implement the report’s other recommendations. These include investing in domestic manufacturing, requiring manufacturers to report increased demand or export restrictions, and encouraging the FDA to develop databases to help track materials used in the supply chain process. This includes
