On 19 May, US senator Herb Kohl, a Democrat representing Wisconsin, sent a letter to the chairman of the country's Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to urge the agency to examine the effect of mergers in the pharmaceutical industry on the nation's drug supply. In his letter, Kohl cites a recent Washington Post article reporting “an unprecedented surge in drug shortages in the United States that is endangering cancer patients, heart attack victims, accident survivors and a host of other ill people.”

A record 211 medications became scarce last year, triple the number in 2006, and at least 89 new shortages have emerged so far this year. “The megamergers of the past decade may be contributing to these critical drug deficiencies,” Kohl states, adding that the disappearance of some companies and the restructuring of drug giants lead to diminished production of older and less profitable products.

The US Food and Drug Administration has policies and procedures to deal with these deficiencies—including importing medications from overseas when necessary. But, in addition to these efforts, Kohl advises the FTC to take shortages into account when enforcing antitrust laws.

Not everyone agrees that the senator's take rings true. Lindsay Meyer, an analyst at Canaan Partners in Menlo Park, California, says, “I don't think you can reduce this simply to consolidation in the industry.” The supply of drugs also depends on forecasts of future demand and relationships and contractual issues between hospitals and suppliers, Meyer adds. “There are too many other factors to just boil it down to the pharmaceutical companies' fault.”