One reason the shortages occur is because of a lack of active pharmaceutical ingredients. Nearly half of the shortages of injectable drugs in 2010 were due to product quality situations such as presence of particulates, microbial contamination, newly identified impurities, and stability changes, the report said.
Another factor is consolidation of drug manufacturers.
"There is no doubt that the number of suppliers that provide these products has narrowed dramatically," said Martin Caponi, pharmacy director of Sacred Heart Medical Center in Eugene, Ore. "That's what's causing this. Where we used to have two and three [companies] providing drugs in some cases, we now have one. When something impacts that supply line, we have these shortages."
Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.), who also participated in the Premier call, said financial considerations in the pharmaceutical industry are a huge factor in creating drug shortages...........
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