2011 medication shortages set new record at 267

Associated Press ^ | January 3, 2012 | Linda A. Johnson

[JoeGar]

TRENTON, N.J. (AP) -- The number of new prescription drug shortages in 2011 shot up to 267, well above the prior record and about four times the number of medication shortages in the middle of the last decade.

...

The FDA says the main reason for the shortages is manufacturing deficiencies leading to production shutdowns. Other reasons include companies ending production of some drugs with tiny profit margins, consolidation in the generic drug industry and limited supplies of some ingredients.

[JoeGar]

Is the government responsible for the shortages due to its pricing constraints?

[surroundedbyblue]

Our OR is short on narcotics. We are gonna have to start passing out bullets soon & telling the patient just to bite it.

[formosa]

We’ll see more of this as Obamacare is implemented. Not to mention that we’ll probably see Research and Discovery start to dry up. There will be no new drugs if companies cannot make a profit or are limited on how much they can sell.

[BitWielder1]

Over regulation and effectively banning those pesky profits will cause shortages every time.
Remember the old Soviet Union where people had to stand in line for hours for basic necessities.
It's coming here. By design.

"He who can destroy a thing, controls a thing."
  - Paul Atreides/Frank Herbert in "Dune".

[Reagan69]

Yes.

This is squarely Obama’s fault. The price restrictions due to Medicare reimbursements are making drug production profit-less.

I know for a fact that even the most specialized of hospitals are having trouble stocking drugs... a lot in the cancer-medicine area. When even the hospitals can’t get them, we are in deep do-do.

[PapaBear3625]

Over regulation and effectively banning those pesky profits will cause shortages every time.

FDA regs requiring drug companies to go through an approval process in order to start making a particular drug, means that when company A decides to drop making a drug, company B has some expensive hoops to jump through before they can start making the drug. So they don't bother. Plus, I'm guessing that for some drugs whose volume is too low to justify continuous manufacture, the company may have to go through process approval every time they want to do another batch.

[aimhigh]

manufacturing deficiencies

This translates to companies making drugs in 3rd world countries with no quality controls.

[Springman]

Just go out on the street, find your local drug dealer, see how much heroin costs and how much he’s got on hand. /s

[trickblue]

Partially, but it goes deeper than that...

My wife is an RN and works in a clinic environment. Many of these “shortage” drugs are purchased by the state and federal government and flagged for “Medicaid Only”...

So while you either can’t get the drug or have to pay an exorbitant amount for said drug, it is being offered to welfare recipients free of charge and kept away from you...

[RightOnTheBorder]

The FDA says the main reason for the shortages is manufacturing deficiencies leading to production shutdowns.

Just a shot in the dark here but my guess is if a factory hasn't dotted every i and crossed evrey t on the FDA checklist (or hasn't sufficiently greased the inspector's palm) they get shut down.