Taiwan has a sufficient supply of 12 types of cancer drugs identified as being in short supply in the US, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) said yesterday.
The US FDA on Wednesday last week identified 14 drugs used for chemotherapy that were in short supply nationwide, including cisplatin and carboplatin, which are first-line treatments used to treat many common types of cancers.
FDA Deputy Director Cheng Hwei-fang (陳惠芳) said that about 50 percent of cisplatin and about 20 percent of carboplatin used in the US were supplied by India-based manufacturer Intas Pharmaceuticals, which last year temporarily halted production after discovering quality-control issues, causing a serious shortage of the drugs in the US.
Photo: CNA
The cisplatin and carboplatin used in Taiwan are not produced by Intas, so the domestic supply was unaffected, Chen said.
Of the 14 cancer drugs listed by the US FDA, 12 have been used in Taiwan in the past few years, but there have been no recent reports of shortages of drugs with the same ingredients and dosages, she said.
After consulting with pharmaceutical companies that have drug permits and a few hospitals, the FDA determined that Taiwan has sufficient supply through the end of the year, she added.
Most of these drugs have been listed as essential under the Pharmaceutical Affairs Act (藥事法), which requires pharmaceutical companies with drug permits to report any potential shortages in the six-month supply of drugs or raw materials, she said.
The FDA has also asked pharmaceutical companies to provide a production or import plan for the next six months, and the administration would continue to monitor the supply of cancer drugs, she said.
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