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Article: Infertility Drugs Growing Scarce // Shortage Alarms Couples, Jeopardizes Treatments
- Article from:
- Chicago Sun-Times
- Article date:
- February 26, 1995
- Author:
CopyrightCopyright 1995 Chicago Sun-Times. (Hide copyright information)
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A severe shortage of two leading fertility drugs is triggering
anxiety among patients and forcing in vitro fertilization clinics and
pharmacies that sell the drugs to turn away patients.
The sudden squeeze in the supply nationwide of the costly drugs
- Pergonal and Metrodin - has pushed clinics to delay the start of
new fertility treatments for couples trying to conceive. Physicians
say the Pergonal shortage began as early as last September; supplies
of Metrodin began drying up about a week ago.
"It's pretty bad. We aren't starting treatment cycles unless we
have ample supplies of the drug," said Dr. Norbert Gleicher,
president of the Center for Human Reproduction. The center spends $2 ...