According to The Wall Street Journal, U.S. hospitals are facing a drug shortage crisis. This shortage could be causing breaches in medicinal safety and an increase in hospital costs of over 200 million dollars annually. The alarming part of this problem is that it applies to important chemotherapy and emergency treatment drugs. The shortage is requiring doctors and pharmacists to seek treatments that ultimately do not match the effects of the original treatment or cost more.
For example a brand name drug called Fusilev is being used to fill the shortages of a generic version called leucovorin. While the generic that is in short supply costs $7.41 a dose while the branded drug costs $177 per dose.
The problem has become so dire, that in some cases the FDA is allowing non-FDA approved drugs from overseas to act as replacements.
Who ultimately has responsibility for this? Do you believe generic drug makers have the responsibility of investing capital to build resources that can handle the volume of drug demand? What incentives could be provided to increase production of these drugs? Should the FDA be allowing use of unapproved drugs from overseas? What will be the solution to this issue ultimately?
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