How races to the bottom spur drug shortages
Becker's Healthcare December 19, 2023
Chronic drug shortages are difficult to resolve because of multiple races to drive down prices on generics, The New York Times reported Dec. 19.
When a medication falls into shortage — which can happen because of high demand, quality control issues, its main supplier closing up shop or other reasons — there’s little incentive for other drugmakers to pick up the pace. More than a dozen current and former executives in the generic drug industry told the Times there are many risks with suddenly increasing production.
Prices of the most common critical drugs are very cheap. For instance, cancer drug mainstays carboplatin and cisplatin, which have been in shortage for months, cost about $15 per dose.
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