Nine drugs were recently added to the hundreds-long, growing list of medications in short supply, according to the FDA and the American Society of Health-System Pharmacists.
Editor's note: The drugs are listed in alphabetical order.
1. Acetylcholine chloride intraocular powder: There are no solutions available as Bausch Health has its Miochol-E 20 milligram vials on back order and expects supply to return to normal in early August.
2. Cefdinir oral presentation: Fourteen of the 16 commercial solutions of the antibiotic are in shortage. Ascend Therapeutics has five solutions on allocation, Lupin has four without a resupply date, and Teva Pharmaceuticals has five with release dates ranging from late July to mid-August, with one solution on intermittent back order. Lupin and Rising Pharmaceuticals both have one solution available.
3. Edetate calcium disodium injection: The lead poisoning treatment is in constrained supply after the preferred medication, dimercaprol, fell into shortage. The nation's only domestic supplier of dimercaprol, Gurnee, Ill.-based Akorn Operating Co., closed in February.
Casper Pharma/Rising Pharmaceuticals and BTG International have solutions available, and Bausch Health does not because of "requirements related to complying with good manufacturing practices."
4. Lisdexamfetamine dimesylate capsule: A temporary delay at Takeda Pharmaceuticals' contract manufacturing sites has put two of its 13 solutions in shortage. The drugmaker's expected release date is late September. The medication is approved for attention-deficit/ hyperactivity disorder and binge eating disorder.
5. Methylprednisolone acetate injection: Sixteen solutions of the rheumatology drug are on allocation, out of stock, in short supply or unavailable. Teva Pharmaceuticals' seven solutions are unavailable, and the drugmaker has no estimated recovery date; Pfizer said two of its injections will not return to normal supply until March 2025 because of a manufacturing delay; and NorthStar Rx has six solutions on allocation, and one is out of stock.
Twenty-three solutions are available.
6. Podofilox topical gel: AbbVie, the only supplier of the genital wart medication, has its Condylox topical gel, 0.5%, 3.5 gram tube on back order. It said it forecasts resupply in late July.
7. Rocuronium bromide injection: About half a dozen solutions of the anesthetic are in shortage because of increased demand. Three release dates are in December and another is in the first quarter of 2024.
8. Testosterone 2% topical gel: There are no solutions available for the hormone replacement as three drugmakers report backordered products. Resupply is expected in mid- to late-July. An alternative product is testosterone 1.62% topical gel.
9. Trimethobenzamide injection: The sole supplier of the anti-nausea medication, Par Pharmaceuticals, has its Tigan 100 milligram/milliliter, 2 milliliter vials on back order. The company said it predicts supply to rebound in August.