Barack Obama has issued an aimed at easing shortages of prescription drugs in the US. The order allows the US Food and Drug Administration to speed up approval of new drug-making facilities, and requires more companies to warn the FDA of any manufacturing cutbacks.
The number of drugs affected by shortages has tripled since 2005, says the White House, which has also called for an investigation into illegal 鈥減rice gouging鈥� by profiteers selling scarce drugs for inflated prices. The FDA blames demand that is rising faster than manufacturing capacity. Others cite who are not meeting FDA standards, and efforts by some companies to impede the manufacturing of older drugs, to boost demand for newer ones.
Half of all shortages in the US in 2010 were of sterile preparations for injection, especially for cancer treatments or anaesthesia.
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