In August, I wrote an op-ed for the New York Post called "Running out of Common Drugs."
It seems that little has been done about it since, as judged by today's front page story in The Times, "Obama Tries to Speed Response to Shortages in Vital Medicines."
I didn't really see anything especially new or even encouraging today. Despite all the ancillary issues (like the FDA slowing things down), I think this is mostly an economic issue. Given the proper climate and a good profit margin this mess should eventually take care of itself.
But in the meantime, I still don't see any real solutions, with the possible exception of something like government subsidies and even stockpiling, as was briefly mentioned. As bad as that sounds, I don't know else will ensure constant, rapid production of the cheap generics.
Ideally, the best solution would be to (gasp) actually manufacture the API and formulated drugs here. I have no idea what kind of incentives it would take to get this done, but considering all the money this country has thrown away on useless garbage, this at least deserves a look.
So, I don't see this getting better any time soon. The irony is that if the missing drugs were more expensive brands, this never would be happening in the first place. When you live by generics, you die by generics.
Running Out of Common Drugs 3 Months Later/Medical Progress Today
