<body><div><img src="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?type=thumbnail_580x000&amp;url=3c9jly_1AKTnE4Y00" alt="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?url=3c9jly_1AKTnE4Y00" width="1200" height="600" >PARAGOULD, Ark. (KAIT) - A Paragould pharmacy owner says he has been unable to gain access to a restricted distribution program for a cancer medication, forcing his patient to use a mail-order pharmacy instead.Kenneth Kuenzel, owner of Hyde Pharmacy in Paragould, said he tried to enroll in a program that would allow him to dispense Revlimid and its generic form, lenalidomide, to a customer prescribed the medication.“I went to the website to do what I needed to do to get in the REMS program,” Kuenzel said. “Whenever I tried to create a login for it, it asked me for an access code that it said I had to get by calling the help desk.”When Kuenzel called the help desk, he was told the network was closed, and no more pharmacies were being allowed in.<h2>Limited access in Arkansas</h2>The medication is only available through the drug manufacturer Bristol-Myers Squibb’s Risk Evaluation and Mitigation Strategy (REMS) program.In his research, Kuenzel found that only one Arkansas pharmacy is allowed to dispense Revlimid through the REMS program. That pharmacy is in Northwest Arkansas and does not offer mail-order medications.“The person that I talked to said in the many years that she’d worked there, she’d never seen anybody else get into the program than they already had,” Kuenzel said.In March, a Gosnell woman with multiple myeloma said she could not afford her cancer medication. Jen Hollified was told her co-pay for a 30-day supply would be $3,271.66.Arkansas State Representative Brandon Achor, a pharmacist who co-sponsored Act 630 to prevent manufacturers from choosing which pharmacies can fill medications, said the limited access contributes to the drug’s high cost.“When you limit the distribution of something, you limit the number of areas that can purchase it, you create an artificial shortage,” Achor said. “And that’s what allows that price to remain stagnant.”<h2>Safety protocols and pharmacy qualifications</h2>REMS programs are created to mitigate serious risks and enforce safe use of certain medications.Revlimid (lenalidomide) can cause severe birth defects, including limb abnormalities, if taken by pregnant women. A series of protocols must be followed to ensure that any woman of childbearing potential does not become pregnant while taking the drug.Kuenzel said his pharmacy is capable of filling these prescriptions.“It’s all the same school. We all get the same degree,” Kuenzel said. “Specialty drug is almost like a made-up word.”Hyde Pharmacy has been accepted into separate REMS programs for drugs like Accutane and Clozaril. Accutane has similar warnings as Revlimid on its label and can cause extreme fetal abnormalities. Clozaril can cause a significant decrease in a specific type of white blood cells.“We’re happy to abide by all the program rules and do all of our due diligence to make sure that we’re dispensing the prescriptions in the way that we’re supposed to dispense them and follow the programs,” Kuenzel said.With Act 630 tied up in court, Kuenzel said he has reached out to his contact numbers and emails for Revlimid’s REMS program, repeatedly requesting access to the drug.He doesn’t know if he’ll ever get it.“I don’t know, they’ve ignored me,” Kuenzel said. “They gave me an e-mail to request inclusion in the program, which I did. I’ve emailed them two or three times, and they’ve never emailed me back either way. So I think they’re just pretty much ignoring it.”Kuenzel’s patient is currently using a mail-order pharmacy. She must be present for the drop-off and has a set period of time that she has to be home to sign for it, an added stress during an already stressful time in her life.You can view part one of this story here.To report a typo or correction, please click here.</div></body>

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PARAGOULD, Ark. (KAIT) - A Paragould pharmacy owner says he has been unable to gain access to a restricted distribution program for a cancer medication, forcing his patient to use a mail-order pharmacy instead. Kenneth Kuenzel, owner of Hyde Pharmacy in Paragould, said he tried to enroll in a program...

CONTINUED COVERAGE: Pharmacies struggle accessing life-extending cancer drug

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PARAGOULD, Ark. (KAIT) - A Paragould pharmacy owner says he has been unable to gain access to a restricted distribution program for a cancer medication, fo

CONTINUED COVERAGE: Pharmacies struggle accessing life-extending cancer drug

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