MINNEAPOLIS — Doctors from Children's Minnesota say they're seeing a shortage in a critical drug that is used to help patients with Leukemia, including around 1,000 patients that are treated annually at Children's.
Vincristine is a crucial drug that is used in therapies for Leukemia, Lymphoma and most other childhood cancers, but recently one company has halted manufacturing of the drug while another has experienced manufacturing problems.
"It's about as critical as they come. It's a very common and a very necessary part of treatment," said Dr. Nathan Gossai, a physician at Children's Minnesota. "To have an external force say that your best known therapy isn't available is very concerning and a nightmare scenario isn't a stretch."
The shortage comes after one of two manufacturers stopped making it this summer. According to the FDA "Teva (Pharmaceuticals) made a business decision to discontinue the product". That left Pfizer as the only manufacturer, and it recently had trouble keeping up with demand.
In an email on Tuesday, Pfizer reported that it aims to more than triple its current production in the coming weeks.
Though patients in some states have already reported skipping doses, Dr. Gossai said that all of the patients at Children's Minnesota that are in need vincristine have received the drug.
"We're worried that in the future, if these shortages continue, we might be in a scenario where we don't necessarily have as much of the medication as we need," Gossai said. "We have to prepare for the possibility."