Cancer treatment centers face critical drug shortages.
Shortages of chemotherapy drugs cisplatin and carboplatin have disrupted cancer treatments across the US, including in Pittsburgh. The FDA temporarily shut down platinum drug shipments from a factory in India in December 2022, the primary supplier. The FDA is collaborating with Qilu Pharmaceutical Co. in China and Apotex in Canada to increase the availability of the drugs. Managing the shortage, hospitals are seeking alternative sources for medicines that are in short supply and adjusting chemotherapy regimens for impacted patients.