Supplies of the widely used chemotherapy drug cisplatin now exceed demand, ending a national shortage that shook cancer care and highlighted supply chain vulnerabilities, especially for sterile injectables.
Why it matters: While it's encouraging news for patients, ongoing shortages of other drugs are driving a debate over reliance on overseas manufacturing and FDA authority.
Driving the news: FDA Commissioner Robert Califf announced Friday that the cisplatin squeeze had ended and that the agency is working with drugmakers and other players along the supply chain to address shortages of other cancer treatments.
The shortages have led doctors to ration care, ask patients to drive long distances for treatment, or turn to alternative treatments with riskier side effects.
This particular one began when an FDA investigation prompted an Indian manufacturer that makes about half of the cisplatin used in the U.S. to suspend theproduction of the drug because of concerns over the quality, per NBC News.
Among the questions it touched off is whether regulators need more authority to order manufacturers to report shortages, or to order stockpiling.
