FDA OKs New Cancer Drug Suppliers
Source: Associated Press
FDA OKs New Cancer Drug Suppliers
TRENTON, N.J. February 21, 2012 (AP)
Federal regulators said Tuesday that they've approved new suppliers for two crucial cancer drugs, easing critical shortages — at least for the time being — that have patients worried about missing life-saving treatments.
The Food and Drug Administration said it will temporarily allow importation of a replacement drug for Doxil, a drug for ovarian and other cancers that hasn't been available for new patients for months.
The agency also has approved another supplier for a preservative-free version of methotrexate, a crucial drug for children with a type of leukemia called ALL and for high-dose treatment of bone cancer. The version with preservatives can be toxic or cause paralysis in children and other patients getting the drug high doses.
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The FDA increasingly has been able to prevent drug shortages by getting advance notice from manufacturers, with 195 shortages prevented in 2011, mostly late in the year after President Obama issued an executive order giving FDA additional powers to address the shortages. Still, about 280 drugs are in short supply.
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http://abcnews.go.com/Health/wireStory/fda-suppliers-ease-cancer-drug-shortages-15757713