Obama's Executive Order Should Help Mesothelioma Patients Get Chemotherapy

Mesothelioma patients being treated with intravenous chemotherapy likely will be helped in cost and availability by President Barack Obama's executive order this week that is designed to ease a growing number of vital-drug shortages. The order not only offers help for drug manufacturers and wholesalers, but it also strengthens efforts by the FDA to prevent and resolve shortages that have cut into the treatment of various cancers, including mesothelioma. There are 84 drugs listed on the FDA's latest Current Drug Shortages List, including Cisplatin, which is part of the Standard Care treatment used by oncologists for mesothelioma patients. Alimta (whose generic is pemetrexed), the other most commonly-used chemotherapy drug, is not on the Shortages List, but its high cost (estimated $1,700 per vial) could be reduced once the Executive Order takes hold. This the first time since 1985 that a president issued an executive order that affects the function of the FDA. Cisplatin Shortage Because of Demand According to the FDA's list, the shortage of Cisplatin stems to increased demand, manufacturing delays, and the product discontinuation by one of the manufacturers. Mesothelioma is a rare cancer -- caused by an exposure to asbestos -- diagnosed in an estimated 2,000 to 3,000 Americans annually. Obama's Order directs the FDA to require companies to provide more advanced notice when they plan to discontinue manufacturing a drug, or even report any potential disruptions in the flow to ma...
Source: Asbestos and Mesothelioma News - Category: Environmental Health Authors: Tags: Treatment & Doctors Source Type: news