Skopje, 28 January 2025 (MIA) — Most of the cancer patients at the Oncology Clinic are receiving the therapeutics they need, according to the clinic's director Igor Stojkovski, saying the shortage of biologic drugs for cancer was expected to end soon, with some of the biologics arriving Wednesday.

"Most of the patients treated at the University Clinic for Radiotherapy and Oncology are receiving the necessary therapy – chemo, radiotherapy and biological therapy," Stojkovski said. 

"There is a shortage of medicines for about 40 to 60 patients at the moment. I believe that we will provide that therapy as soon as possible," he said. 

According to Stojkovski, there were around 5,000 new cancer patients at the clinic and over 95 percent of them were receiving the correct therapy. 

"The shortage happened because of the rising number of patients and a brief shortage of one drug, but the patients were switched to another drug, of which now there is a shortage," Stojkovski said.

He said the clinic would make plans and efforts to have all the available cancer drugs at all times going forward.

Previously, Health Insurance Fund director Sasho Klekovski said the annual plans should be approved Friday and, soon after, the regular annual procurement procedure would start.

Since Jan. 17, cancer patients have been unable to fill their prescriptions for the lung cancer drug atezolizumab (tecentriq), the metastatic colorectal cancer medication bevacizumab (avastin), the breast cancer growth blockers palbociclib and ribociclib, the advanced breast cancer treatment fulvestrant as well as the advanced bowel cancer, head cancer and neck cancer drug cetuximab.

Cancer patients told MIA they were afraid that soon there will also be a shortage of the breast cancer treatment trastuzumab emtansine (kadcyla), the immunotherapy drugs nivolumab and cobimetinib as well as the metastatic melanoma cancer growth blocker vemurafenib. mr/