A shortage of a critical cancer drug that’s left doctors and patients in the U.S. scrambling for other treatment options began halfway around the world, at a drug manufacturing plant in Gujarat, India.
In December, a Food and Drug Administration investigation prompted Intas Pharmaceuticals to suspend the production of cisplatin because of concerns over the quality of the drug. The company supplies about 50% of the cisplatin used in the U.S., and by February, the drug — which is used to treat cancers of the bladder, brain, throat, cervix, lung, ovaries and testicles — had fallen into shortage, with other suppliers unable to fill the gap.
In June, the FDA said that it would temporarily allow imports of the drug from China. The move will offer some relief but is not a long-term solution.
The disruption in India shows how one kink in a drug’s manufacturing process can throw the entire supply chain into disarray. But cisplatin — and many other drugs used here and around the world — isn’t simply imported from India to hospitals in the U.S. India is just one of several stops the drug makes in its manufacturing process.
Working with the United States Pharmacopeia Medicine Supply Map, a database that provides insights into the international drug supply chain, NBC News mapped cisplatin’s global journey, from the mines where a key component is extracted from the earth, to the distribution centers where it can be sent on its way to reach patients in need.
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