Patients with cancer face waiting over a year for lifesaving medication that costs just $10

The Bray family always prided themselves on their positive outlook on life.

And in 2018, when they received the devastating news that their 9-year-old daughter Abby had life-threatening leukemia, they tried to focus on finding a way out of the situation.

She had an excellent doctor and a precise and effective treatment plan. Her outlook was positive.

In the meantime, the hospital has run out of the medicine that was keeping her alive.

Abby's mother, Laura, from Florida, was shocked one afternoon during Abby's treatment when her oncologist suggested she take her daughter home and “wait for drugs to become available again.” Ta.

“But I was worried that if I missed even one session, my cancer would come back,” cancer activist Laura told DailyMail.com.

And she's not alone.

Families told us of the devastating effects of drug shortages on Americans across the country, resulting in too many avoidable deaths.

Latest data shows that shortages of life-saving drugs are at an all-time high in the United States.

According to the American Society of Health-System Pharmacists, there will be an estimated 309 drug shortages in 2023.

This is a 30% increase since 2021 and a record high.

Patients with advanced blood cancers, deadly pneumonia and mental illness are just some of the patients waiting more than a year for critical medicines. The average waiting time for medicines on the drug shortage list is 15 months.

More than 15 of these drugs have been in short supply for more than 10 years, with the average shortage period being 1.5 years.

And statistics show that doctors are struggling. Eighty-three percent of oncologists reported in the New England Journal of Medicine that they were unable to prescribe their desired chemotherapy drugs due to shortages.

A recent American Cancer Society study found that one in 10 patients is affected by drug shortages, forcing them to use alternative drugs or delay treatment.

Most of these drugs are generic drugs, so the cost to patients and insurance companies is much lower than brand-name drugs.

Almost all stockouts (96%) are caused by issues within human control, such as manufacturing or supply and demand protocols.

Brooke Dowers and Ryan Dowers, both from Iowa, are two more victims of the crisis, missing out on vital chemotherapy treatments.

In April 2021, Dowers, then 36, was undergoing chemotherapy to treat pancreatic cancer.

After six rounds and surgery, the special education teacher was declared disease-free in September of that year. However, within a year, the cancer had returned and spread to his liver.

In December, another round of chemotherapy with a drug called cisplatin was started, but the Dowers didn't know it was on the drug shortage list.

However, in May 2023, while the patient was still undergoing treatment, doctors told him that due to a lack of drugs, they were “prioritizing” curable patients and children.

Hospitals were running out of cisplatin to the last vial, and multiple facilities across the country were also struggling to obtain cisplatin.

Brooke Dowers told DailyMail.com: “Everyone is disappointed, and I can't imagine poor doctors having to say to their patients, 'We don't have the treatment you need, and it's working.'

“But it was kind of disgusting. When you hear that, you think, 'Well, what about a 37-year-old husband with two young children?' It doesn't seem to matter because it won't heal.''

In search of a solution, the couple took to social media, posting about their situation and asking if anyone could help provide medicine.

A friend came across the petition and contacted the charity set up by Abbey Bray's mother Laura, which helps cancer patients access medicines that are in limited supply.

The organization, called Angels for Change, helped Ryan Dowers apply for emergency supplies through the Food and Drug Administration.

Not only was Dowar able to complete his last four rounds of chemotherapy, but 50 other patients at the hospital also obtained their medication using the same method.

Brooke Dowers told DailyMail.com: “We're so grateful for Laura and the work she's doing to not only provide people with life-saving medicine, but to make a difference.” . She doesn't have a bandaid on. She is doing everything she can to get medicine to people who need it and is trying to solve problems.

“And it looks like the government is starting to listen.”

Mr. Dowers is still being treated with other drugs, and although he suffers from some painful side effects, his tumor markers have significantly decreased.

“We were surprised and excited by the response,” he says.

Laura Bley's campaign successes were born out of necessity, she told DailyMail.com.

The medication her daughter was refused due to shortages was the second in a series of medications, and she was allergic to the first.

A “Plan B” drug called Erwinase has been on the national drug shortage list for years.

It is unclear when the drug will be available, but doctors have told the Bray family to take Abby home for “bonus time to recover.”

However, the family feared that this would mean she would not be able to take her medication completely and that her daughter would ultimately die.

Bray told the website that if he didn't do everything he could to get his daughter drugged, he wouldn't want her to live with him.

At the time of her daughter's treatment, Ms. Bray was a professor with expertise in international business supply chains and business strategy.

Using publicly available information from government agencies, calling hospitals, and enlisting the help of dozens of people, she was able to find additional drugs within 10 days.

“We found medication and she was back on protocol, but we had a lot of questions,” Bray said.

“There wasn't a single nonprofit patient advocacy organization whose mission was drug shortages. Some people talked about drug shortages, but you could put your name on a list and show someone else the list. but it didn't help me.

“I thought, 'I really don't know what I'm capable of. I'm a human being, a mother, an employee, a wife. I have three children; One has cancer.”

“We knew we had been treated unfairly. We knew it was a market failure. All stakeholders, including the government, not just the supply chain, were responsible for that failure. I knew I was accepting that as an acceptable loss.”

Bray said she felt she had to do something “so that at least the next person doesn't feel alone.”

In 2019, she launched Angels for Change. The organization is a volunteer-run group working to end drug shortages through advocacy and building resilient supply chains, building a network of medical professionals, suppliers and people working to ship medicines across the country. That's what you do. To patients who are in trouble.

Abby, now 14 years old, is healthy and cancer-free.

The drug shortage crisis, which has affected the United States more than any other Western nation, certainly seems to be getting the attention of lawmakers. In November, the U.S. Senate Finance Committee held a meeting dedicated to this issue.

Experts say the main reason for drug shortages is the U.S. government's failure to regulate profit-seeking drug companies.

The federal government does not monitor drug ingredients or oversee manufacturing processes that occur overseas.

The FDA says drug shortages can be caused by companies discontinuing older, unprofitable generic drugs in favor of more profitable branded drugs.

The government states that “discontinuation of production is also contributing to the shortage.''

“The FDA cannot require companies to continue manufacturing drugs that it wants to discontinue. In some cases, these older drugs are discontinued by companies in favor of new, more profitable drugs.”

A Senate report released in March said many “important generic drugs require highly complex manufacturing processes.” [they] It ends up costing you $1. ”

Another factor contributing to this problem is that the United States relies on materials from China and India to manufacture nearly all medicines used in emergency medicine.

The number of foreign manufacturers registered with the FDA more than doubled between 2010 and 2015.

The FDA already has limited oversight authority over drug manufacturing, but shifting that responsibility to foreign companies would further complicate the process, as the U.S. lacks insight into overseas manufacturing, quality, and supply chain issues. .

During the Covid-19 pandemic, Americans are facing drug shortages as shelves of popular pain and cold medicines are emptied, forcing them to shop from store to store for needed medicines. was close-up.

Serious drug shortages in the United States include albuterol, an asthma and allergy drug used to prevent and treat breathing difficulties. Amoxicillin, an important antibiotic used to treat bacterial infections. Epinephrine, or epinephrine, is a drug used to treat life-threatening conditions such as severe allergic reactions.

According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), 54 million prescriptions were written for amoxicillin in 2019. Approximately 62 million albuterol prescriptions were written in 2020, and 1.7 million prescriptions were written for epinephrine in 2020.

The FDA previously said in a statement to DailyMail.com that it recognizes the impact of drug shortages and remains committed to strengthening the supply chain, but ultimately has little control over drug manufacturing.

“FDA recognizes the potential impact that the unavailability of certain products can have on health care providers and patients,” the administration said.

“While the FDA does not manufacture drugs and cannot require drug companies to make drugs, increase production of drugs, or change the way drugs are distributed, FDA does work closely with many manufacturers and other companies. The public should be reassured that the supply chain understands, mitigates, and prevents or mitigates the impact of intermittent or reduced availability of certain products.

“We are working across government, academia, and industry to strengthen and diversify supply chains, further address drug shortages, and ensure Americans have access to high-quality, safe, and effective medicines.” We will continue to work towards collaboration.”

“While the FDA cannot directly influence many of the business decisions related to the pharmaceutical supply chain, the FDA is, among other things, using advanced manufacturing technologies and mature quality control practices to advance these important initiatives.” We have encouraged the introduction of

Bray told DailyMail.com that lawmakers especially need to act quickly to make the generic drug market more sustainable.

90% of the drugs Americans use are generic drugs.

She said, “It's hard to survive because it's not sustainable, and lawmakers need to realize that they can't just help make the generic industry sustainable.”

“They need to support the people who buy these medicines to buy these high-quality, resilient and reliable medicines.”

Brooke and Ryan Dowers echoed her sentiments, saying, “There are patients and physicians who rely on both generic and non-generic drugs to survive. It is important that we all come together as a nation to solve the problem.”