Mark Hahn and I dove into a critical issue: the drug shortages caused by Hurricanes Helene and Milton. Helene, in particular, inflicted severe damage on a major North Carolina major IV fluids production plant, leaving hospitals to scramble with orally-administered alternatives like Pedialyte and Gatorade in non-critical cases—a stark reminder of the fragility of our medical supply chains.
Mark shared a story about a pediatrician struggling to find essential medications, illustrating our over-reliance on a few foreign manufacturers. I noted that low-profit drugs often have just one or two domestic producers, making us vulnerable to supply disruptions from contamination, labor actions, fires, or natural disasters.
Our conversation turned to the FDA's approval process, where I shared my frustration over unnecessary delays. Conversely, the COVID-19 vaccines' rapid development was thanks to expert production and testing, federal funding, and regulators' cooperation.
Looking to the future, I shared my excitement about new biotechnology-based developments, such as the Nobel Prize-winning use of AI to create custom proteins—a breakthrough that promises new treatments and other applications in the pharmaceutical sector.
Here is the entire conversation.
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Drug Shortages Plague Doctors and Patients. There's a Solution
Henry I. Miller, MS, MD
Henry I. Miller, MS, MD, is the Glenn Swogger Distinguished Fellow at the American Council on Science and Health. His research focuses on public policy toward science, technology, and medicine, encompassing a number of areas, including pharmaceutical development, genetic engineering, models for regulatory reform, precision medicine, and the emergence of new viral diseases. Dr. Miller served for fifteen years at the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in a number of posts, including as the founding director of the Office of Biotechnology.
