We are proud to announce two new breakthroughs in the fight to make sure no pediatric oncology patient is left behind.
The FDA has announced coordination with Porton Biopharma Limited (PBL) to make the non-FDA licensed Erwinase (crisantapase) produced by Clinigen available in the United States. At the same time, Jazz Pharmaceuticals has just received FDA authorization for a new erwinia-based asparaginase.
This creates two supply sources in the marketplace for patients undergoing cancer treatment who have an anaphylactic reaction to pegasparaginase.
Angels for Change has been an advocate for pediatric cancer patients at risk of not getting life-saving drugs. In the last 15 months Angels for Change has helped more than 20 patients whose treatment was delayed because of this drug shortage. To shine a light on drug shortages and their impact, we have created a “Warrior” video with first-person accounts of the journey of pediatric cancer patients and their families, that represents Angels for Change’s patient advocacy.
We are proud and grateful we could help these Warrior families obtain the life-saving drugs they needed to successfully complete their child’s chemotherapy treatment. Yet we have always maintained our goal is that no parent or patient should ever have to hear, and no doctor should ever have to say, “We don’t have the life-saving drug you need.”
Since our founding in 2019 AFC has taken a leadership role in advocating for being proactive rather than reactive in ending drug shortages. We have convened Summits which brought together key stakeholders in drug manufacturing and supply chain industry to put the individual patient at the center of the conversation on the impact of drug shortages.
We are hopeful that with two drugs in supply, erwinia-based asparaginase will be completely removed from the drug shortage list. This redundancy will also give patients and doctors a choice of drugs. We are one step closer to a future where ALL and AML patients will be able to receive their needed chemotherapy with no delays in protocol.
“We would like to thank all of our Champions who have not only helped patients get the drugs they need thus far, but who are also involved in proactively ending this shortage: Clinagen, Jazz, the FDA, and McKesson,” said Angels for Change CEO, Laura Bray.
She added, “Access-based decision making must be eradicated. Treatment plans should be driven by efficacy, science, and doctor/patient decisions, not by businesses.”
Patients and doctors who are having trouble accessing these drugs, or patients who have been put on hold or missing doses, can contact Angels for Change for support.