The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Patients face severe shortage of lifesaving drug
Medicine is used to treat epilepsy, cancer and immune disorders.
A severe shortage of immune globulin — a popular medicine used to treat epilepsy, cancer and immune disorders — is forcing doctors nationwide to cancel patients’ lifesaving infusions as hospitals and treatment centers resort to rationing and dose-cutting.
What’s happening
Made from human blood donations, immune globulin contains infection-fighting antibodies derived from blood plasma, and it is typically given intravenously in a hospital or an infusion center. It is used to treat many medical conditions, including seizures, leukemia, autoimmune diseases, organ transplants, acute muscle illnesses and nerve disorders.
Because the medicine is highly effective, it has become popular among doctors who routinely prescribe it for off-label conditions such as strep infections that have crossed the blood-brain barrier, infertility and even toe fungus.
As off-label use spreads for lifesaving niche drugs, supplies grow scarce.
Why it matters
Immune globulin “is the one thing, if you have an antibody deficiency, that gives you gas in the tank,” said John Boyle, president of the national nonprofit Immune Deficiency Foundation. “It is necessary to live.”
The foundation put out a statement in July saying doctors should find suitable alternative medicines.
“For our population, there is no substitute,” Boyle said.
Manufacturers say the current shortage is among the worst they have experienced since the treatment has been on the market.
“People are taking a hard look at who is receiving the medicine, and really, is it the right treatment?” said Michael Ganio, director of pharmacy practice and quality at the American Society of Health-System Pharmacists, a trade group.
What’s next
For patients, the shortage is frustrating because there is not a lot they can do to fix the problem.
“We just don’t know when the supply will increase,” Ganio said, and there is “not a lot of transparency” from the manufacturers.
Jerry Siegel, a clinical associate professor at Ohio State University College of Pharmacy, said it can take 7 to 12 months to produce and supply plasma-based medicines to customers. It can take more than 1,000 plasma donations to make a one-year supply for a patient.