Many doctors, patients and also U.S. agencies are on edge due to the shortage of certain lifesaving drugs. It is reported that doctors are facing an acute shortage of a chemotherapy drug, Methotrexate, which is a commonly used medication for treating cancer in children and also in adults. The agencies are scrambling to see that the supplies are secured. Even the patients and their families are left puzzled as to why these medicines, which have been available over several years, are suddenly unavailable. Many patient-advocacy groups are demanding Congressional action so that the regulatory and economic issues leading to this problem can be handled immediately. Because of the urgency, US Agencies work hard to cope with Methotrexate shortages across the country to avoid delays in the recovery of many cancer patients.

Methotrexate is a drug used for chemotherapy in children suffering from lymphoblastic leukemia. It is also essential for treating bone cancer. Methotrexate came as a great boon, offering hope to children suffering from acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL). The drug could cure the disease with a success rate of 85%. However, the shortage of Methotrexate has now left the patients in the lurch. Due to the unavailability of Methotrexate, many physicians are forced to use other less effective drugs for their patients. In many parts of the country, the treatment of cancer patients has been halted. In some hospitals, physicians are trying hard to cope with the issue by changing the treatment plan of their patients.

 

The shortage of Methotrexate has probably come about due to the shut down of its production by Ben Venue Laboratories Inc. at the Bedford, Ohio, manufacturing complex, in November, after FDA expressed its concerns about the product safety.

 

The root of the problem can also be traced back to the backlog of several applications pending with the FDA. Although many drug manufacturers had submitted their applications for the production of this drug, the agency did not have financial support for reviewing the applications and for inspecting the factories. The matter was aggravated as most of the applicants’ factories were located abroad. Apart from this; the manufacturers of such generic drugs are not very enthusiastic about expanding their production of these drugs, which are not used by a large population, because such drugs do not fetch much profit for them.

The FDA has been trying to deal with drug shortages by encouraging the manufacturers to issue a warning regarding an impending shortage. The FDA has commented that it has averted a shortage of several medications after President Barack Obama signed an order emphasizing the need for early notification of shortage problems.

To ease the issue, the FDA has temporarily allowed shipments from India of some of the drugs. The FDA said that it will give permission to such imports on occasions when the shortage of drugs is critical and no suitable alternatives are available. The FDA has also approved the production of Methotrexate by a new manufacturer.

Some hospitals recently received a supply of Methotrexate after the Ben Venue plant was allowed to release an existing batch of the drug by the FDA. Though the supply is enough to manage the treatment of patients for the next few weeks, it is still unclear when the next batch of Methotrexate will arrive so that the treatment can be continued without interruption.

To help patients in this difficult situation, our medical website, Emedoutlet, has taken up an initiative to supply Methotrexate, free of cost, in 20 ml vials (500 mg) per patient till the 15^th of April. Patients can benefit from this facility provided they have a valid prescription for this drug, from their doctor.

Please go to our website emedoutlet.com for complete details on how to benefit from this offer.

 

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