Hawai'i may feel arthritis drug shortage
By James Gonser
Advertiser Staff Writer
Users of the popular arthritis drug Enbrel, including hundreds of people in Hawai'i, may have trouble filling their prescriptions during the next month because of a nationwide shortage.
The manufacturer says the delays are expected to last only a few days to a couple of weeks.
A local physician specializing in rheumatology said if the delays last for months, patients will have to seek alternative treatments to "this very effective therapy."
Dr. David John estimated that more than 500 people in Hawai'i are being treated with Enbrel.
"If it looks like they are going to delay refilling prescriptions for a month or two or three, the doctor is going to have to change the management," John said. "They just can't wait that long."
Some patients will have a temporary delay in filling their prescriptions this month and next, said Robin Shapiro, director of corporate communications for Immunex Corp., the drug manufacturer in Seattle. "We expect it be up to our normal inventory levels in June."
When Enbrel came out in 1998, it was hailed as one of a new generation of drugs that could put an end to arthritis pain and halt the progression of the destructive joint disease. Enbrel works by binding up the tumor necrosis factor, a molecule that stimulates joint inflammation, according to Immunex.
Despite a price of $1,000 to $1,200 for a month's supply, Shapiro said the demand is greater than the company can supply. "There are thousands of people on the waiting list to even start the product," she said.
Because it is a biologic, not a synthetic, drug, Enbrel is made from cells grown in a lab rather than manufactured, Shapiro said.
"The timing and release of the drug varies. There are fewer runs this time of year. On the other side of May, we should have plenty of supply. We also expect a new manufacturing facility to be approved later this year."
Nationwide, about 2.1 million people suffer from rheumatoid arthritis, in which the body's immune system attacks the joints. In Hawai'i, about 189,000 people have some form of arthritis, said Susan Milton, program manager for the Hawai'i Branch of the Arthritis Foundation. Milton takes Enbrel.
"It's an excellent medication," she said, that "appears to relieve some of the symptoms and to slow down the progression of the disease."
Enbrel is usually injected by patients twice a week. It is expected to account for about $750 million in sales this year and could reach $3 billion annually by 2004, according to Immunex.
Reach James Gonser at jgonser@honoluluadvertiser.com or 535-2431.
