According to a report by the New England Journal of Medicine, several economic factors prevent drug companies from increasing the supply of these drugs. For instance, few companies make injectable drugs like propofol because they’re expensive and complex to make. Because propofol is a generic drug, it doesn’t make much money for the companies that produce it, making expensive manufacturing infeasible.
Drug manufacturers must also hurdle significant barriers to get a drug to market, another process that may not be worth it if the drug doesn’t make much money.
Anesthesiologists prefer propofol because it works quickly and allows patients to wake up quickly. While alternatives to the drug exist, they come with significant side effects.
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