Patients with ovarian cancer and other deadly tumors will regain access to an important chemotherapy drug, Food and Drug Administration officials told USA TODAY in an exclusive interview Monday.
The drug, Doxil, has been in short supply since last June. There are no generic versions of the drug, which is also used to treat multiple myeloma and AIDS-related Kaposi's sarcoma.The agency says it will announce today that it has worked out a deal to temporarily import a replacement drug, called Lipodox, from an Indian company, says the FDA's Sandra Kweder. The FDA has previously inspected the company, Sun Pharma Global, which exports the drug to other companies.
"It's wonderful news," says Kweder, who says the deal will address the Doxil shortage "for the forseeable future."
Doxil is one of 287 drugs that have been in short supply this year, says the University of Utah's Drug Information Service, which has been monitoring the problem. That's up from 61 shortages in 2005, the FDA says.
...