Tue Feb 21, 2012 11:37am EST (Reuters) - The Food and Drug Administration plans to address a potentially life-threatening shortage of two leading cancer drugs by allowing one of them to be imported from abroad and rushing approval for a new manufacturer to make the second. The FDA will allow imports of a version of the cancer drug Doxil, which, in the next few weeks, should meet patient needs, the agency said. The drug version is called Lipodox and has the same active ingredient as Doxil, doxorubicin. The FDA will also approve a new company, APP Pharmaceuticals, to make methotrexate, a drug used to treat childhood leukemia. APP is a unit of German healthcare group Fresenius SE. The FDA said it had reached a limited, temporary arrangement for importing Lipodox from Indian drugmaker Sun Pharmaceutical Industries and its distributor subsidiary, Caraco Pharmaceutical Laboratories Ltd. Ben Venue's problems have also contributed to a shortage of methotrexate, leading U.S. lawmakers to call for action last week from the FDA and the manufacturers amid fears that U.S. medical practices were close to running out of the drug entirely within a few weeks. In response, Ben Venue said last week it would release reserves of methotrexate that were made before it shut down the plant last November. President Barack Obama made shortages a national priority with an executive order in October, and the FDA said it has prevented 114 shortages since then, mainly by working with manufacturers. The agency said it will also release guidelines for manufacturers to inform the FDA about looming shortages, as early notification can help prevent them.