Pharmaceutical Shortages

I don't want to get into everything about capital punishment here but I was reading about the botched execution in Oklahoma.  Several sources say that states are experimenting with different drugs because of shortages of the ones they normally use.  I don't know how many of you follow the health forum but there is a thread that gets resurrected regularly about the prednisolone shortage for kitties.  I know my kitty was switched to another steroid 2 years ago because the vet couldn't get the prednisolone.  About a year ago she said she was having issues with getting some antibiotics.

I don't know what is going on with the shortages but this has been going on for quite a while and is affecting a lot of different things.

http://www.canadadrugshortage.com/causes/

Here is a link that will explain the causes of drug shortages.   In Canada we are having issues obtaining many of the medications we prescribe to cancer patients. So far the chemo medications themselves have not been affected, but the support drugs for nausea, inflammation etc, have been. Some antibiotics are also an issue.

Here is a list of the drugs that are short in Canada

http://www.drugshortages.ca/drugshortages.asp

I know my vet blamed big Pharma, that was just her personal opinion.  I know in the case of prednisolone, a new steroid call Entocort has gotten a lot of press as the best steroid for IBD in kitties.  The Entocort is also more expensive so it makes sense to create a shortage of the cheaper one.

We've had shortages with normal saline and lactated ringers too.

Is that what's going on? My poor kitty had been waiting on an anti-viral for over 2 weeks! He's not getting better only worse. When will the all mighty dollar stop all of us from getting ill rather than being the cause of it ?

This article from February 2014 gets into some of the reasons for drug shortages in the U.S., but not in depth: Drug Shortages Continue to Vex Doctors

peaches08 said:

 
We've had shortages with normal saline and lactated ringers too.

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That is really bad, it's actually over into the absurd.  I don't know what kind of excuse anyone could come up with for this.

Denice said:

 
That is really bad, it's actually over into the absurd.  I don't know what kind of excuse anyone could come up with for this.

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For whatever reason, the pharm companies have had troubles meeting up with demands.  I don't know more than that; no one seems to.

We are having a horrible time getting my husband's ADHD prescription filled. Pharmacies are either not carrying certain medications for fear of robbery or they cannot carry enough in stock to fill all the legitimate prescriptions. The DEA has cracked down on how much Ritalin, Adderall, and Dexedrine can be produced because the drugs can be abused. Last month, he had to go to five different pharmacies before he found one who could fill his Rx. His Rx used to be under $20 for a months supply, over the past 3 years it has gone up to $100. The price varies from pharmacy to pharmacy, and some want $180 for the exact same Rx. It is ridiculous.The extended release variety is what works best for him, but we simply cannot afford it- the cheapest quote for that one is close to $400 for a month supply. So he has to use a less effective med. The big pharma companies must be laughing all the way to the bank. It makes me so angry.