Flooded India plant supplying U.S. chemo drugs will not reopen until 2028, ASHP says

The American Society of Health-System Pharmacists said in its third-quarter drug shortages report that "a key supplier impacted by flooding in India will not reopen until 2028." The report, which has data through September, says multiple chemotherapy agents remain in short supply. Endpoints News reported on October 28 that the supplier is Pfizer's Gujarat plant and that its closure could last up to two years.

The plant made generic chemotherapy drugs used for leukemia, Hodgkin lymphoma and colorectal, pancreatic and testicular cancers, among others, according to ASHP's report as summarized by Becker's Hospital Review. Several of those drugs were already in shortage before the flooding. Pfizer has not publicly listed every drug made at the plant, so it is not confirmed which of these shortages trace directly to the flooding.

Additions after the quarter closed

ASHP added four Pfizer cytarabine injection products, a mainstay of blood cancer treatment, to its shortage list on October 7, along with bleomycin products from Pfizer, Fresenius Kabi and Hikma. On October 12, it added irinotecan products from Pfizer, Eugia US and Sagent. Pfizer's Korean unit told South Korean regulators it expects cytarabine supply to return to normal by the end of 2028 and is exploring other facilities and contract manufacturers, MoneyToday reported.

Shortages ease overall, worsen in cancer care

ASHP counted 225 active shortages at the end of the third quarter, down from a record 323 in early 2024. Contrast agents used for CT scans and MRIs made up 10% of new shortages this year. Cancer care has moved the other way: ASHP recorded 87 new shortages through September, almost equal to the 89 logged in all of 2025, and noted that "lower numbers of shortages do not necessarily translate into fewer patients impacted."

The strain at cancer centers

In a National Comprehensive Cancer Network survey released in September, all 31 responding cancer centers reported at least one anticancer drug in shortage, according to a Becker's timeline of the 2026 chemo shortage. Ifosfamide was short at 94% of centers and carboplatin at 71%. Most centers kept patients on schedule through mitigation steps, but 7% said they could not keep every patient on the intended treatment, and 39% said shortages had affected clinical trials.

What happens next

The longer-term outlook depends on policy as much as factories. ASHP has called for reshoring and nearshoring drug production and for long-term purchasing contracts that reward reliable supply. In past shortages, including the 2023 cisplatin crisis, the FDA allowed temporary imports from overseas manufacturers.