Oct. 23, 2019 -- “It’s appalling that we’ve had to do this. It’s just unimaginable that we’re forced to ration cancer drugs for children in the U.S., but it is happening today with vincristine.”
That’s Peter Adamson, MD, a pediatric oncologist at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia and chair of the Children’s Oncology Group, talking about the recent shortage of the children’s cancer drug vincristine.
The chemotherapy drug, which is given by IV, was discovered about 60 years ago and is the most widely used treatment for many types of childhood cancer, including the most common one, acute lymphoblastic leukemia, or ALL.
Adamson says some children have already had their vincristine dose delayed, and it’s possible some may have missed a dose. He says rationing has already begun.
“While we’re hopeful that the number of children who have delayed doses is minimal, different hospitals have different levels of drug supply available. A few hospitals are reporting that they’ll run out of drug within the next 2 weeks and already are taking steps to stretch their drug supply.”
ALL is a cancer of the blood and bone marrow, and vincristine is part of the standard treatment. It’s also part of the treatment for some types of kidney, muscle, nervous system, liver, and pediatric brain tumors. And it’s standard treatment for many adult cancers.
The drug’s only maker, Pfizer, says relief may be coming soon. In a letter dated Oct. 18, Pfizer said the next delivery of the drug is expected in late October and will meet current patient needs for the rest of the year. It expects full product recovery by January.
“Pfizer is now the only supplier of vincristine, and we are committed to providing this important medicine to patients. We have scaled up production to fully meet the need for vincristine over the long term. We have also expedited additional shipments of vincristine, which are now in transit to healthcare providers so they can treat patients.”
Until this summer, two pharmaceutical companies manufactured vincristine: Pfizer and TEVA Pharmaceutical Industries. In July TEVA, according to the FDA, made a “business decision” to discontinue the drug. That left Pfizer as the only supplier, and it has had manufacturing delays.
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