Just when you thought America under Biden couldn’t get any worse.
The tragic death of 60-year-old Jeff Bolle, a beloved high school counselor and football coach from Milwaukee, highlights the devastating impact of drug shortages in the country.
Battling bile duct cancer, Bolle’s chemotherapy treatment was abruptly stopped due to the critical scarcity of cisplatin, leading to his untimely demise.
His passing not only grieves those who knew him but also serves as a poignant illustration of the severe ramifications of the ongoing drug shortage crisis in the United States.
Jeff Bolle, a dedicated educator and coach, fought valiantly against a formidable tumor near his liver since October 2022.
Despite undergoing surgery and rounds of chemotherapy, his battle was cut short by the unavailability of essential medications crucial for his treatment plan.
The scarcity of cisplatin is just one aspect of a larger national dilemma encompassing vital medications for various conditions such as diabetes, infections, and other cancers.
Recent data reveals alarming shortages at major cancer centers across the nation, with significant percentages reporting deficits in crucial drugs like carboplatin and cisplatin.
These shortages severely compromise patient care, leaving countless individuals without access to life-saving treatments.
The U.S. is currently grappling with an unprecedented peak in drug shortages, with 323 essential medicines in limited supply – marking the highest level recorded since monitoring began in 2001 by the American Society of Health-System Pharmacists as reported by Axios.
“During the first quarter of 2024, ASHP and our partner, the University of Utah Drug Information Service, tracked 323 active shortages. This is an all-time high, surpassing the previous record of 320 shortages in 2014,” the American Society of Health-System Pharmacists (ASHP) said in a statement.
“All drug classes are vulnerable to shortages. Some of the most worrying shortages involve generic sterile injectable medications, including cancer chemotherapy drugs and emergency medications stored in hospital crash carts and procedural areas. Ongoing national shortages of therapies for attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder also remain a serious challenge for clinicians and patients,” it added.
Daily Mail reported:
After platinum is mined, it is turned into cisplatin in India at Intas Pharmaceuticals, before it is filled and finished at FDA-approved sites in Europe and the US. It is in these stages of development that the sticking points resulting in shortages occurred.
Intas Pharmaceuticals has run into problems with the FDA over the years and was shuttered after a surprise inspection of one of its sprawling plants last year uncovered quality control issues.
Staff were also found to have thrown acid on key documents in an effort to obscure them from regulators. The manufacturing shutdown set off a supply shock in February.
The FDA has resorted to opening import channels with China to bring in the crucial drugs, a temporary fix.
Supplies of other drugs have been affected by similar supply chain issues, as well as natural disasters.
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