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.
Twenty-four Republican members of the US House of Representatives yesterday introduced a concurrent resolution calling on the US government to abolish the “one China” policy and restore formal diplomatic relations with Taiwan. Led by US representatives Tom Tiffany and Scott Perry, the resolution calls for not only re-establishing formal relations, but also urges the US Trade Representative to negotiate a free-trade agreement (FTA) with Taiwan and for US officials to advocate for Taiwan’s full membership in the UN and other international organizations. In a news release announcing the resolution, Tiffany, who represents a Wisconsin district, called the “one China” policy “outdated, counterproductive
Actress Barbie Hsu (徐熙媛) has “returned home” to Taiwan, and there are no plans to hold a funeral for the TV star who died in Japan from influenza- induced pneumonia, her family said in a statement Wednesday night. The statement was released after local media outlets reported that Barbie Hsu’s ashes were brought back Taiwan on board a private jet, which arrived at Taipei Songshan Airport around 3 p.m. on Wednesday. To the reporters waiting at the airport, the statement issued by the family read “(we) appreciate friends working in the media for waiting in the cold weather.” “She has safely returned home.
TRUMP ERA: The change has sparked speculation on whether it was related to the new US president’s plan to dismiss more than 1,000 Joe Biden-era appointees The US government has declined to comment on a post that indicated the departure of Laura Rosenberger as chair of the American Institute in Taiwan (AIT). Neither the US Department of State nor the AIT has responded to the Central News Agency’s questions on the matter, after Rosenberger was listed as a former chair on the AIT’s official Web site, with her tenure marked as 2023 to this year. US officials have said previously that they usually do not comment on personnel changes within the government. Rosenberger was appointed head of the AIT in 2023, during the administration of former US president Joe
MUST REMAIN FREE: A Chinese takeover of Taiwan would lead to a global conflict, and if the nation blows up, the world’s factories would fall in a week, a minister said Taiwan is like Prague in 1938 facing Adolf Hitler; only if Taiwan remains free and democratic would the world be safe, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Francois Wu (吳志中) said in an interview with Italian newspaper Corriere della Sera. The ministry on Saturday said Corriere della Sera is one of Italy’s oldest and most read newspapers, frequently covers European economic and political issues, and that Wu agreed to an interview with the paper’s senior political analyst Massimo Franco in Taipei on Jan. 3. The interview was published on Jan. 26 with the title “Taiwan like Prague in 1938 with Hitler,” the ministry
RSS