Chemotherapy Drug Shortages Compounded by Plant Shutdown in India

An ASHP report said that a Pfizer manufacturing plant in India would be shut down until 2028 due to damage from flooding.

Matt MacKenzie

Nov. 2, 2026

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Key Highlights

The flooded Pfizer plant manufactured generic drugs used for leukemia, Hodgkin lymphoma, and colorectal, pancreatic, and testicular cancers.
Some of the affected drugs were already listed as being in shortage before the flooding.
An ASHP report through September warned the plant closure would put further pressure on the drug market.
Children’s hospitals are especially vulnerable because pediatric chemotherapy regimens often have fewer alternatives than adult treatments.
Experts are calling for policy changes that make reliable supply a priority in long-term contracts with suppliers.

A plant manufacturing chemotherapy drugs in India has been shut down until 2028 due to flooding, putting even more pressure on a market that is already seeing shortages in multiple key agents.

An ASHP report detailing national drug shortages up to September of this year mentioned the flood and how it will exert more pressure on the market. Further reporting from Endpoints News and Medical Daily expanded on the details.

The Pfizer plant manufactured generic chemotherapy drugs used for leukemia, Hodgkin lymphoma, and colorectal, pancreatic, and testicular cancers. Some of the drugs were already included in shortage lists even before the flooding.

A National Comprehensive Cancer Network survey released in September found that all 31 of the cancer centers that responded reported at least one anticancer drug in shortage. 7% of the responding centers said they were unable to keep every patient on the intended treatment.

Children's hospitals are a friction point, as pediatric chemotherapy regimens have so few alternatives compared to those for adults. Experts are calling on policy changes that forefront reliable supply in long-term contracts with suppliers.