Biden administration launches pilot to mitigate pediatric cancer drug shortages

As President Joe Biden is taking final steps to push one of his signature domestic priorities to accelerate the fight against cancer.

A new initiative, announced Monday, aims to mitigate pediatric cancer drug shortages. 

The White House announced a new private sector pilot program to maintain uninterrupted access to seven pre-selected critical pediatric cancer medications. The initiative is part of the Biden Cancer Moonshot, one of the president's signature domestic efforts to accelerate the fight against cancer.

The Biden-Harris Administration is taking action to ensure all kids facing cancer have access to the treatments that their medical teams determine are best for them, administration officials said in a White House statement.

Pilot participants will develop stewardship standards focused on identifying shortage risks, promoting transparent inventory awareness, and fostering an effective approach to prevent patient care disruptions and maintain consistent drug distribution to children and families facing cancer.

 The pilot, coordinated by the End Drug Shortages Alliance, involves children’s hospitals and pharmaceutical distributors.

The pilot will launch before the end of the year and run into 2025. At the end of the pilot, the End Drug Shortages Alliance will publish a report on the pilot, including key learnings and opportunities to scale. 

The End Drug Shortages Alliance will coordinate participating healthcare providers, including Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, Children’s National Hospital, Children’s Mercy Kansas City, Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center, Stanford Medicine Children’s Health, St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, and Texas Children’s Hospital; pharmaceutical wholesalers, Cencora and Morris & Dickson; and advising partners Angels for Change, Children’s Hospital Association, and US Pharmacopeia.

"Our goal is to build a collaborative, scalable, and transparent ecosystem that will provide effective treatment and improved care for children and families impacted by cancer. This new pilot will improve our supply chain, provide more timely and uninterrupted care to children facing cancer, and, ultimately, save lives," said Danielle Carnival, deputy assistant to the president for the Cancer Moonshot and deputy director for health outcomes at the Office of Science and Technology Policy, in a statement.

First launched in 2016, Cancer Moonshot aims to reduce the cancer death rate by at least half over the next 25 years. It will also aim to improve the experience of survivors or those fighting cancer. 

In 2022, Biden relaunched the national campaign to accelerate the rate of progress against cancer.

For decades, cancer drug and medical supply chain shortages have had serious impacts on patient care, according to the Biden administration.

"Cencora is proud to serve as a participant in the White House Cancer Moonshot’s initiative, which aims to mitigate shortages of critical pediatric cancer medications," said Heather Zenk, PharmD, president of the U.S. Supply Chain at Cencora, in a statement. "As a leader in pharmaceutical supply chain operations and distribution, Cencora is committed to advance solutions that create stability for our nation’s pharmaceutical products and help to ensure healthcare providers have timely and reliable access to medications. We believe continued collaboration with multiple stakeholders across the industry is critical to strengthen the supply chain and address this complex, multi-faceted issue."

In January, U.S. Reps. Anna G. Eshoo, D-Califorinia, ranking member of the Energy and Commerce Health Subcommittee, Diana DeGette, D-Colorado, and Kim Schrier, D-Washington, introduced legislation to ensure the U.S. maintains a stable supply of essential pediatric cancer drugs.

“Across the country, key cancer treatments are being rationed as drug shortages have reached a 10-year high with over 300 drugs in shortage, including pediatric cancer drugs,” said Eshoo in a statement. “I’m proud to introduce the Pediatric Cancer Drug Supply Act to build a six-month reserve supply of the most critical pediatric cancer drugs so that all children in need can access lifesaving treatments and families aren’t left scrambling when drugs are in short supply.”