Ok, I'm still looking for the one I actually
read. But I found this article dated Mar 2005. Even though it is
in reference to childhood cancer, it explains the shortage a bit.
I've tried to type the first few words in all caps between the articles
as a separator.
http://www.rednova.com/news/display/?id=135933&source= r_health
Drug Shortage for Childhood Cancers
A U.S. shortage of injectable methotrexate -- a medication used in the treatment of several childhood cancers-- is alarming the nation's oncologists.
The drug was placed on the U.S. Food and Drug Administration's list of short supply drugs after a manufacturing plant in Switzerland was shut down last year because of quality-control problems, the Wall Street Journal reported Tuesday.
The plant supplied an estimated 85 percent of the drug used in the U.S. market. A third supplier has increased production of the drug, but hospitals are running low or are out of stock.
The drug is used for cancers, as well as rheumatoid arthritis, psoriasis, lupus and Crohn's disease. But the shortage mainly affects the nearly 4,500 U.S. children diagnosed annually with leukemia, osteosarcoma and non-Hodgkins lymphoma.
While adults
with the same condition can take lower does in oral form, children need
extremely high doses that they can get only in the injectable form.
AHhhh ha. I found a more recent one!!! Still not the one I saw
but... oh well. I'm not sure what the RTOG Study 0227 is or what
it is even for. Most likely cancer.
http://www.rtog.org/members/protocols/0227/0227broadcast.h tml
UBJECT: RTOG STUDY 0227: Shortage of preservative-free methotrexate
At this time (and possibly for the next several months) there is an
extreme shortage of preservative-free methotrexate; most of the major
wholesalers in the US and Canada have none in stock.
There are two manufacturers with a very limited stock that is being
released on an as-need basis. Investigators who enroll patients into
RTOG Study 0227 should remind their pharmacists of the shortage and
suggest they call the manufacturers' customer service department to
discuss purchasing a supply of methotrexate directly or via
drop-shipment instead of trying to order MTX through their local
wholesalers.
The manufacturers are:
Mayne Pharmaceuticals: 1-888-606-2245
Bedford Labs: 1-800-521-5169
AND FINALLY from the FDA-
http://www.fda.gov/cder/drug/shortages/#Current
updated 4/25/2005
Methotrexate 1 gram vials are not yet available from APP.
American Pharmaceutical Partners (APP) Customer Service #1-888-386-1300.