Investigational Medicine Access Amid the Oncology Drug Shortage
The healthcare sector worldwide is reeling from a severe shortage of vital cancer drugs, including Carboplatin and Cisplatin, cornerstone therapies in various cancer treatments. The National Comprehensive Cancer Network's (NCCN) recent survey data brings the extent of this crisis into sharp relief: over 90% of the largest U.S. cancer centers are directly impacted by the shortage, with 93% and 70% experiencing shortages of Carboplatin and Cisplatin, respectively.
The shortage primarily stems from manufacturing and sourcing challenges, including the shutdown last December of Intas Pharmaceuticals' facilities following an FDA inspection, stringent worker safety requirements, and the struggle to secure a consistent supply of production-grade platinum.
How the Crisis Impacts Pharma and Biotechs Today
In this scenario, healthcare providers are compelled to seek alternative treatment routes. With conventional chemotherapy medications in short supply, clinical trials and expanded access programs are increasingly pivotal. The American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) maintains that clinical trials are an essential treatment option during the crisis for both early and late-stage cancer. The premise holds true for expanded access as well.
As such, pharmaceutical companies developing new treatments could help address the shortage, provided they swiftly respond to healthcare providers and patients and appropriately offer access to their investigational medicine.
The Role of Software in Bridging Communication Gaps
In these challenging times, pharmaceutical companies have a unique opportunity. They can proactively facilitate the exploration of alternative treatments. Improving communication with healthcare providers and patients is a crucial part of this process, helping bridge the gap between the need for effective treatments and the current limitations in drug availability. MedaSystems’ software can play an integral role in this mission, offering a responsive, efficient, and patient-centric approach.
Clinical Trial Enrollment: Our software enables a rapid review of patient health information to determine their eligibility for available clinical trials, ensuring seamless communication between the patient, healthcare providers, pharmaceutical company, and clinical trial sites throughout the enrollment process.
Expanded Access Requests: The platform streamlines expanded access requests, managing the request pipeline, ensuring regulatory compliance, and accelerating the approval process.
Healthcare Provider Outreach: The software offers a single point of contact for healthcare providers to reach out to pharmaceutical companies, handle inquiries, forward relevant information, and manage responses.
Patient Communication: Our software offers patients an easy and secure way to initiate contact, submit requests, and receive updates about their treatment options.
In this ongoing crisis, the imperative to innovate quickly has never been greater. We invite pharmaceutical companies to leverage our software, opening the door to improved communication, efficient processes, and, ultimately, better patient outcomes.