JEFFERSON CITY — State regulators moved to address an ongoing shortage of some common cancer treatment drugs Monday by easing rules affecting hospital pharmacies in Missouri.
The state’s Board of Pharmacy issued an emergency rule that goes into effect July 6 giving the pharmacies more latitude in combining drugs needed for chemotherapy in an attempt to stop hospitals from rationing care because of the shortage.
“(T)he board has determined this emergency rule is needed to address critical drug shortages and to ensure adequate supply of potentially life-saving compounded medication when possible,” the rule notes.
The rule, which will stay in effect through the end of the year, comes after the Missouri Hospital Association found that the nationwide shortage had resulted in some hospitals having to select which patients to treat.
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Earlier this year, the National Comprehensive Cancer Network said treatment facilities across the United States were dealing with shortages of carboplatin and cisplatin, a pair of drugs used to treat a range of cancers.
The problem is linked to production problems in a factory in India.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has allowed the temporary importation of some foreign-approved versions of cisplatin from factories registered with the FDA.
In the emergency rule, the Board of Pharmacy said without the rule “hospital pharmacies may be unable to meet patient demand for needed drugs in short supply.”
The board also said patients may experience life-threatening delays or interruptions in critical medication treatment, “which will detrimentally impact the public safety, health and welfare of Missouri citizens.”
“As a result, the Missouri State Board of Pharmacy finds there is an immediate danger to the public health, safety, and/or welfare and a compelling governmental interest that requires this emergency action,” the rule adds.
Under the change, hospital pharmacies must stop the practice if the original product becomes available.
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