Teva Defends Vincristine Discontinuation Decision

Insists It Is Not Responsible For US Shortages

Amid emotive US mainstream media coverage of shortages of the children’s cancer treatment vincristine, Teva insists it is not to blame after discontinuing production of the chemotherapy agent.

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Mainstream media in the US have run emotive reports on vincristine shortages • Source: New York Times

Criticism of Teva’s US operation for discontinuing supplies of the vincristine chemotherapy agent is wide of the mark, the Israeli group insists. Publications including the New York Times and Forbes have in recent days highlighted increasing supply shortages of the injectable drug, which is widely used in US hospitals to treat pediatric cancers such as leukemias and lymphomas.

Teva and Pfizer’s Hospira currently hold the only approved abbreviated new drug applications (ANDAs) for vincristine sulfate 1mg/ml pre-filled...

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