Drug shortages are lasting longer, driven by economic pressures: US Pharmacopeia report

With legislative efforts to combat drug shortages picking up and amid a record high number of U.S. shortages, a new report from U.S. Pharmacopeia (USP) offers more insight into the economic issues at play.

Through its Medicine Supply Map, USP pinpointed (PDF) four contributing factors that can make medicines more susceptible to supply issues. Low prices, manufacturing complexity, geographic concentration of production and quality issues can each raise the risk of a shortage, either alone or in tandem with one another.