Melphalan and Medicine Shortages

Melphalan and Medicine Shortages

Melphalan is an anti-cancer medicine used in hospital as part of different chemotherapy regimens. It belongs to a class of medicines known as alkylating agents.

Melphalan is used in the treatment of

·         Ovarian Cancer

·         Breast Cancer

·         Multiple Myeloma (cancer of the bone marrow)

·         Neuroblastoma  (a childhood cancer that often develops in the adrenal gland) and

·         Rhabdomyosarcoma (a rare cancer of muscle tissue). [i]

What are the problems with obtaining melphalan?

Unfortunately, there is currently a shortage of Melphalan in Europe which is making it difficult for hospitals to provide their patients with the drug at the appropriate time.

The European Association of Hospital Pharmacists (EAHP) surveyed 600 hospital pharmacies in the European Union and found that there were frequent problems getting certain medicines[ii]. 86% of respondents reported that they currently had a problem with medicine shortages. 55% said that they had problems sourcing anti-cancer drugs. These drugs included:

·         Melphalan

·         5-fluorouracil

·         Cisplatin and carboplatin

·         Methotrexate and

·         Vincristine 

Why are medicine shortages so dangerous?

Medicine shortages are very serious issues because patients cannot just wait to get their medicine at a later date. This is particularly important with anti-cancer drugs such as melphalan because missing a dose can have serious consequences for the health of the patient.  

Healthcare providers have a responsibility to ensure that their patients have a continuous supply of medicines. Medicine shortages threaten this so immediate action must be taken to resolve them.

The more time that healthcare providers have to devote to managing medicine shortages, the less time they have to provide a high standard of safe and effective care to their patients. If they are unable to source their usual product then they may have to resort to using a more expensive product or even a less effective one. This increases the risk of side-effects or of the treatment being ineffective.

What can Taj Accura offer?

Taj Accura Pharmaceuticals have an extremely wide-ranging supply of oncology products and are more than well equipped to deal with any future medicine shortages. In addition to ensuring continuity of supply, Taj Accura can provide their customers with either large or small batches of melphalan as well as other generic oncology products. http://www.tajaccura.com/product/melphalan-50mg-injection-3/

 

For example, Melphalan Hydrochloride Injections are available from Taj Accura Pharmaceuticals at a dose of 50 mg. Taj Accura also provide Melphalan tablets at a dose of 2 mg.

Obtaining one’s supplies of Melphalan directly from a manufacturer like Taj Accura is an attractive option as it allows one to cut out wholesaler costs. This is obviously a key target for many hospitals. Furthermore, it means that the medicines will take less time to reach the customer so less of their shelf-lives will have elapsed.

For more information, please visit www.tajaccura.com

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[i] Facon T, Mary JY, Hulin C et al. (October 2007). "Melphalan and prednisone plus thalidomide versus melphalan and prednisone alone or reduced-intensity autologous stem cell transplantation in elderly patients with multiple myeloma (IFM 99-06): a randomised trial". Lancet 370 (9594): 1209–18.

[ii] EAHP. Medicine Shortages in European Hospitals 2014. Available from http://www.eahp.eu/sites/default/files/shortages_report05online.pdf