When vital drugs run out, patients pay the price-150 medications in short supply so far this year

[RamboLiberal]

Source: MSNBC

Cancer patient Bob Dierker had just finished eight of 12 chemotherapy sessions when technicians broke the news.

Next time, they said, he'd get no leucovorin, the generic medication long used to battle his type of aggressive Stage 3 colorectal cancer. The drug was in short supply across the nation and he'd have to go without.

“It was like getting shot in the stomach,” said Dierker, 64, a lawyer from Fairfax, Va. “My odds just dropped dramatically because I can’t get this drug.”

Exactly how Dierker’s chances of beating the cancer will be affected is unclear, said his oncologist, Dr. Alexander Spira. Leucovorin has been used to boost the effectiveness of cancer drugs for decades, so no one knows how badly patients will fare without it. But Dierker is not alone.



Read more: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/39798646/ns/health-health_care/

[dkf]

1. But how do they get the genetics to stop producing?

"But Dierker thinks he knows what’s behind the recent shortage of generic leucovorin, the second since 2008. In some regions, a 50-milligram dose of generic leucovorin costs 98 cents; a newer brand-name alternative called Fusilev costs $184.08. But many insurance companies, including Dierker's, won't pay for it."

[cliffordu]

2. This is completely unnacceptable.

[McCamy Taylor]

3. US government should produce generics.

[freebrew]

4. Nationalize the pharms!

If the drug cos are using peole's lives to increase their profit, it's well past time to take them over.

My family is positive for a trait that needs another hard to get drug.
These are called orphan drugs as only half a million people in the states have the particular disorder.
There are many such cases and diseaes throughout the world. But since it isn't what 'everyone else has' the
medical profession doesn't address them.

This case sounds like blackmailing for a new patent on a new drug that replaces one that already works cheaply.

[uppityperson]

5. Direct link to ASHP drug shortage page, what is, was, isn't.

http://www.ashp.org/shortages

Thanks for this article and I am glad to find that link as I've been scrambling for over a yr to find the thyroid hormones I need to stay alive. Price has doubled also, though $20/month is still not a whole lot.

[Kennah]

6. Go North

Or go online.

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/health/2013059437_pharmacy10.html
http://www.peoplespharmacy.com/2010/10/11/medicare-doughnut-hole-is-pricey/
http://www.cipa.com/verify-pharmacy/
http://www.mipa.ca/member_pharmacies
http://www.napra.org
http://www.napra.org/pages/Manitoba/default.aspx
http://www.napra.org/pages/mtb_Association/PharmacyDirectory.aspx

There is no shortage of illegitimate Internet pharmacies, but there are legit ones.

[prolesunited]

7. Have you ordered from any of these?

[Kennah]

8. Order In Progress

CanadaDrugs.com is a member of CIPA, MIPA, and listed on NAPRA (as a member of the Manitoba Pharmaceutical Association) so it's a regulated pharmacy.

[prolesunited]

10. One thing that I noticed immediately

is generics available for Advair and Singulair, and no generics are available in the US. I'm seriously under treating my asthma because I can't afford these meds, which are outrageously expensive. I think I will give this a try. Still pretty expensive, but I do enjoy breathing.

[Betty]

9. Glad to see the free market is doing its job

I know all the tea partiers who will need an unprofitable drug some day will understand that.