America
Drug Shortages Spark Public Health Crisis
Biden’s Inflation Reduction Act blamed for limiting supply of life-saving medications.
M BY MARISA HERMAN
edical experts are warning that the current shortages of prescrip- tion drugs could infl ict
as much devastation on the nation as another pandemic. Life-saving medications, cancer
drugs, and even everyday prescrip- tions are increasingly hard to come by as the country grapples with a supply chain crisis that is hitting commonly used generic drugs particularly hard. The American Society for Health-
System Pharmacists says more than 300 drugs are in short supply — the most logged since 2014. Wayne Winegarden, a senior fellow
and director of the Center for Medical Economics and Innovation at Pacifi c Research Institute, told Newsmax the real issue is the “increase in the num- ber and severity” of drug shortages. “It’s a public health emergency,” he said. “It’s awful.” Medical professionals and public
health experts say the shortages are forcing patients to delay treatments, change medications, or leave a phar- macy empty-handed.
In May, the American Cancer Soci-
ety warned about potentially “life- threatening” supply problems for che- motherapy drugs that “don’t have an eff ective alternative.” “As fi rst-line treatments for a num-
ber of cancers, including triple-neg- ative breast cancer, ovarian cancer, and leukemia often experienced by pediatric cancer patients, the shortage could lead to delays in treatment that could result in worse outcomes,” CEO Karen Knudsen said in a statement.
The American Society for Health- System Pharmacists says more than 300 drugs are in short supply — the most logged since 2014. In March, Novartis Pharmaceu-
ticals Corp. announced it couldn’t keep up with demand for Pluvicto, a medication that treats advanced prostate cancer. While supply chain issues are still contributing to some of the shortag- es, healthcare professionals are also blaming politics. Rik Mehta, a former Food and Drug Administration offi cial and health law professor at Georgetown University, said the Biden administration’s policies have “chilled” generic drug competition because of profi t caps on generics imposed by last year’s Inflation Reduction Act. The law was
20 NEWSMAX | JULY 2023
hailed for lowering prescription drug costs, but critics cautioned that pro- hibiting price hikes beyond infl ation has disincentivized manufacturers and reduced supply. “It’s as simple as eco-
nomics 101,” Winegarden said.
Edmund Haislmaier, HAISLMAIER
a senior research fellow at the Center for Health and Welfare Policy
at The Heritage Foundation, agrees that capping or taxing companies for increasing prices faster than infl ation is a “counterproductive solution” for the generic drug market. Elsewhere, chemotherapy drugs
began running low after an FDA inspection cited a manufacturing plant in India for quality-control issues, and IV antibiotics — including penicillin administered in hospitals and adenos- ine, a heart drug given intravenously for emergency treatment of an irregular or rapid heartbeat as well as cardi- ac stress tests — became tough to fi nd. Former FDA Com- missioner Scott Gottlieb
GOTTLIEB
agreed the Infl ation Reduction Act was exacerbating drug shortages and recommended certain drugs be carved out from the requirements. “The reimbursement for these
drugs under government programs has been driven down very low, something above the marginal cost of manufacturing the drugs, and that’s fi ne when it comes to a pill-form drug where there’s not a lot that can go wrong,” Gottlieb said. “But when it comes to an inject-
able drug, you need to leave a margin in so people can reinvest in manu- facturing facilities, and make sure they’re high quality.”
SIGN/LINDSEY NICHOLSON/UCG/UNIVERSAL IMAGES GROUP VIA GETTY IMAGES / HAISLMAIER/THE HERITAGE FOUNDATION / GOTTLIEB/AMERICAN ENTERPRISE INSTITUTE
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