U.S. Sen. Gary Peters (D-Mich.) sent a letter to acting FDA Commissioner Ned Sharpless asking what the agency is doing to curb drug shortages.

The ranking member of the Senate Homeland Security and Government Affairs Committee, Peters highlighted in his letter that “the number of active shortages in the first half of 2019 alone, 282, already exceeds the number of active shortages at any point in 2018.”

As examples, he cited current shortages of the immunodeficiency disorder treatment intravenous immune globulin (IVIG) and sodium bicarbonate, an antacid. “Despite the simplicity of the product and its critical importance to patient care, there are now insufficient quantities of sodium bicarbonate for patients at hospitals across the country,” he said.