Mar 15, 2023   SOURCE: BusinessWire

End Drug Shortages Alliance Releases Report for Drugs Impacted by Pharmaceutical Plant Closure

The End Drug Shortages Alliance (EDSA) today released a report assessing the impact to the U.S. market caused by the recent closure of a drug manufacturer. Akorn Pharmaceuticals filed for bankruptcy Feb. 23 and ceased all U.S. manufacturing operations, leaving questions about the impact to the supply of over 100 medications — some essential — including injectable and oral products as well as ophthalmic, otic and topical formulations. The full report may be accessed here.

The EDSA report, which was a collaborative effort among Vizient, ASHP, and Children’s Hospital Association (CHA), provides an analysis for products with greatest risk of supply disruption and vulnerability, including four essential medications, that, if not available, would prove the greatest threat to a hospital’s ability to provide immediate and high-quality patient care.

As clinicians will need to develop strategies for potential drug shortages, the report offers high-level guidance, including for the impacted essential medications such as adenosine, used in the treatment of supraventricular tachycardia; calcitriol, used to manage hyperparathyroidism in patients undergoing renal dialysis; dimercaprol, an antidote for metal poisoning; mycophenolate mofetil, a prophylaxis for organ rejection; and physostigmine, used in the reversal of anticholinergic syndrome.

“Transparency regarding drug shortages is important to ensure patient care remains uninterrupted,” said Mittal Sutaria, senior vice president, Vizient pharmacy contract and program services and EDSA board member. “The healthcare system needs time so that pharmaceutical companies can increase manufacturing when possible and providers can develop mitigation strategies to alleviate any potential disruption in supply when a manufacturer exits the market.”

The report assesses data from multiple sources including essential medication status, market share and current ASHP shortage designation to estimate the resilience of a particular product. It also offers recommendations for key stakeholders, including:

  • Manufacturers and wholesalers, to evaluate their ability to maintain or increase product availability or manufacture products for which Akorn was the sole supplier and establish protective allocations to ensure medications are available for patient care.
  • Group purchasing organizations, to pursue novel sourcing strategies and emergency contracting for life-saving medications.
  • Clinicians and providers, to exercise a stewardship mindset and review purchasing and formulary status to determine conservation and mitigation strategies.

“The more time providers and the broader health care system have to prepare for a shortage, the better,” said Eric Tichy, division chair, pharmacy supply solutions for Mayo Clinic and EDSA chairperson. “Advance knowledge of supply disruptions is part of the transparency that the End Drug Shortages Alliance has advocated for since forming. Transparency benefits all market participants.”

About End Drug Shortages Alliance

The End Drug Shortages Alliance is a collaboration of health care industry stakeholders, including providers, group purchasing organizations, manufacturers, distributors and other industry thought leaders dedicated to solving the pharmaceutical supply challenges that disrupt access to essential medications in the U.S. We prioritize initiatives focused on transparency, quality, redundancy and production of additional supply to achieve undisrupted access to essential medications for health care providers and patients.