Thursday, March 1, 2012

Shortage of injectable bendamustine

The American Society of Health-System Pharmacists reports a shortage of injectable bendamustine. Brand name Treanda, from Cephalon, this is another cancer drug shortage. It is used to treat chronic lymphocytic leukemia. If treatment with rituximab fails, it is the second treatment used for indolent B-cell non-Hodgkins lymphoma. Bendamustine and rituximab have also been used together for indolent B-cell NHL (Medscape account required). There is no other drug that is a direct replacement for bendamustine. Cephalon gives neither a reason for this shortage nor a date when the drug will be available. If someone needs bendamustine for treatment of their cancer, they must either wait until and if an adequate supply can be gathered or a different therapy must be attempted.

No comments: