U.S. Drug Shortage Broken Down By Numbers

An infographic published by PharmaPro illustrates the problem of drug shortages in the United States. With a 74% increase in drug shortages over the last five years, and an average of 12 years to get a new drug approved, PharmaPro writes that “the U.S. has a drug shortage problem that refuses to go away.”
According to the infographic:

Though the FDA has gotten better at stopping new shortages in recent years, the total number of drugs in short supply remains stubbornly high. Why the hold-ups? Most experts point to recall troubles, aging processing equipment, the FDA’s lengthy approval process for new drugs, or dwindling supplies of raw or bulk materials needed to produce certain drugs. But according to a 2011 study, manufacturing problems only accounted for 23 percent of drug shortages, while supply/demand issues were blamed for 13 percent. Around half of shortages were caused by “unknown” factors.

Click here to view the PharmaPro Infographic.