Tampa, Florida– [November 30th, 2022]-- Angels for Change, a patient advocacy non-profit founded in Tampa, FL announces that they have supported patients in the access of half a million drug shortage treatments since April of this year. Angels for Change is working to eradicate drug shortages after founder Laura Bray’s child faced three life-saving essential medicine shortages while fighting a pediatric cancer diagnosis.
There are currently 260 medicines on shortage in the United States. Hospitals spend $365 million dollars and 8.1 million employee hours on drug shortages each year still US patients face patient harm. 85% of oncologists state patients have been harmed up to Overall Survival (OS) because of essential medicine shortages.
In March 2022, Angels for Change, announced a historic move to enter the grantmaking space to reduce the patient-level impact of drug shortages. Each grant is designed to reduce a manufacturer’s barriers to entry, facilitating added flexible manufacturing capacity and drug shortage supply of essential medicines vulnerable to shortage. Angels for Change awarded their first grant to STAQ Pharma to protect patients from a shortage of Potassium Chloride (KCl) and 23.4% Sodium Chloride (NaCl).
“From our founding, STAQ’s focus has been providing a reliable supply of ready to administer medicines in the right dose at the right time for pediatric and adult hospital patients. In times of shortage, we believe the 503B Outsourcing Facility is uniquely positioned to help bolster the supply chain for these critical medicines. We are proud to have partnered with Angels for Change and hope this is the first of many,” said Mark Spiecker, President, STAQ Pharma.
Today, Angels for Change announced that their first grant has already resulted in more than half a million life-saving treatments provided to patients, primarily children, across the United States in the last six months.
"The ability to infuse new product into the supply chain in such a timely manner highlights the success that is possible with this type of cooperation and planning," said Terri Lyle Wilson RPh, Director of Pharmacy - Supply Chain Services at the Children's Hospital Association.
Patients must have equal access to these essential medicines. We can create a future where every patient has access to the essential medicines they need. This innovative and collaborative project succeeded in bolstering the supply chain by creating proactive, redundant production for use in times of shortage. With the success of their first grant, Angels for Change committed to protect patients from harm of 10 more essential medicines vulnerable to shortage disruptions.
“Our hospital was greatly impacted by this program. Our patients depend on us to provide them with intravenous Total Parenteral Nutrition or TPN. The shortage of IV electrolytes was going to force us to make very tight restrictions, conserving what little supply we had. Being able to obtain potassium chloride and sodium chloride from STAQ allowed us to continue to provide quality care that our small patients deserve,” states Mark Thomas, Chief Pharmacy Officer, Cincinnati Children’s Hospital.
Complete information about this project was released in July through a Case Study: A New Approach to Mitigate Drug Shortages.
“I am extremely proud that we were able to work collaboratively within the supply chain to support patients and hospitals in their time of need. It’s hard to wrap my head around 500,000 treatments. One question keeps going through my head; what would the last six months have been like for patients, physicians, and pharmacists if we hadn’t launched this project? We can and we must do more,” said Bray.
Can you help protect patients from shortage? Contact us at communications@angelsforchange.org and join the race to end drug shortages!
About Angels for Change
Angels for Change is a volunteer supported, global, 501c3 organization started in Tampa, FL on a mission to end drug shortages through advocacy, awareness, and a resilient supply chain. Founder, Laura Bray, was driven to start Angels for Change after her own child faced 3 life-saving drug shortages in 9 months of pediatric cancer treatment. Each day Angels for Change advocates on behalf of any patient in a life-saving drug shortage, while building relationships with patients and members of the pharmaceutical supply chain to end all healthcare crises created by drug shortages. www.angelsforchange.org
About STAQ Pharma Inc.
STAQ Pharma (Safety, Transparency, Availability, Quality) is a 503B Outsourcing facility headquartered in Denver, CO. STAQ is a CGMP manufacturing facility designed to produce compounded medications in prefilled syringes for anesthesia and surgical procedures. STAQ produces sterile to sterile and non-sterile to sterile and relies heavily on automation, ensuring adequate supply and compliance with FDA regulations. STAQ is focused on adult and pediatrics, to ensure that our biggest and littlest patients get the right dose at the right concentrations. You can learn more about us at www.staqpharma.com.
About Children’s Hospital Association
The Children’s Hospital Association is the national voice for more than 200 children’s hospitals. They are advancing child health through innovation in the quality, cost, and delivery of care in children’s hospitals and health systems. Follow on Facebook @childrenshospitals and Twitter @hospitals4kids. Childrenshospitals.org