U.S. Senator Chuck Schumer says the demand for a bladder cancer drug in the Rochester Finger Lakes Region and Upstate New York is skyrocketing. That’s why he is calling on the federal government to do something about it.
Speaking at the University of Rochester Medical Center’s Wilmot Cancer Center, Schumer says he has been receiving calls to his office from cancer patients about the drug -- Tice BCG -- and found that manufacturing has not been able to keep up with patients’ needs. The drug is based on a live bacteria, and doesn't keep long.
Senator Schumer is urging the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) to fix the policy of discarding partial vials of Tice BCG, which could be otherwise used to treat patients. He also wants the FDA to find other alternatives that would alleviate the drug shortage.