US drug shortages are at an all-time high, data shows

The number of active drug shortages in the US has hit an all-time high, according to data professional group the American Society of Health-System Pharmacists (ASHP) released on April 11.

There are 323 drugs in shortage, beating out the previous record of 320 in 2014, according to ASHP, which tracks drug shortages in partnership with the University of Utah. The most “worrying” shortages include chemotherapy drugs, generic sterile injectable drugs, and emergency drugs found in hospital crash carts, ASHP CEO Paul Abramowitz wrote in a letter to the organization’s members.

While it’s not clear why so many drug shortages aren’t resolving, Erin Fox, associate chief pharmacy officer of shared services at the University of Utah Health in Salt Lake City, previously told Healthcare Brew the shortages are likely due to a lack of financial incentives for drug manufacturers to boost production.

Abramowitz added that ASHP has “serious concerns” about regulations the Department of Health and Human Services proposed in early April that include imposing fines on hospitals for failing to take certain steps to mitigate drug shortages, like building buffer inventories.

“Much work remains to be done at the federal level to fix the root causes of drug shortages,” he wrote.

According to Abramowitz, hospitals often “lack the resources to stockpile medications and take other suggested steps to mitigate shortages.”

On the same day ASHP announced the record-breaking number of active drug shortages, FDA Commissioner Robert Califf testified before Congress, asking for the agency to have more authority in mitigating drug shortages.

Democrats on the House Oversight Committee argued that the FDA needs to be able to collect more data from drugmakers to protect against drug shortages, biopharma news outlet Endpoints News reported.

“The biggest shortages are occurring in inexpensive generic drugs where the less expensive the drug, the more likelihood of shortage because of the way the market is not succeeding in rewarding high-quality manufacturing,” Califf testified, according to Endpoints. “That’s the point I think we really need to address over the next few years.”