Last year, vials of the decades-old chemotherapy drug fludarabine could be purchased for a wholesale price of around $110. Not so much anymore.
This year, one company—Areva Pharmaceuticals—has jacked the figure up to $2,736, Stat News reports.
What’s going on with the aging chemotherapy used to prepare patients for cancer treatment?
It all comes down to supply chain problems triggering shortages that affect the only other two suppliers of the drug in the United States—Teva and Fresenius Kabi.
This and other well-documented shortages aren’t going away any time soon, according to Bindiya Vakil, CEO of Resilinc, a California-based firm that helps companies from a variety of industries mitigate supply chain problems.
While shortages of high-profile drugs such as Adderall and amoxicillin have garnered headlines recently, Vakil points to a recent FDA warning that has the potential for more far-reaching consequences.
