The tornado that hit a Pfizer Inc. plant earlier this week left production areas relatively unscathed, alleviating some experts’ concerns about a potential worsening of US drug shortages.
Most of the damage to the facility in Rocky Mount, North Carolina, occurred at a warehouse holding raw materials, packaging supplies and finished medicines, the company said in a statement. Pfizer is exploring alternative manufacturing locations while the company works to bring the plant back online, Chief Executive Officer Albert Bourla said in a press conference at the plant.
The plant makes 8% of all injectable medicines used at US hospitals, and experts are watching closely to see how the damage affects the availability of basic medicines. Shortages of drugs in the US are at a nine-year-high, according to the University of Utah’s drug information service, with basic drugs like antibiotics, chemotherapy, and attention-deficit medicines in short supply, and the limited damage eased concerns about further issues.
“I’m hugely relieved,” said Erin Fox, who runs the Utah service. “Yes, it’s a problem. Yes, it’s terrible to lose that much inventory. Yes, we may feel some worsened shortages for a little bit. But it’s a short-term problem to fix.”
The US Food and Drug Administration said that while it’s still conducting an assessment of the products impacted and the current available supply, there is “redundancy” in the supply chain due to other manufacturers. The facility is the sole source for the US market for fewer than 10 drugs, with a number of these having substitute formulations or “many weeks’ worth of stock” in Pfizer’s other warehouses, according to a statement late Friday.
Mitigation Steps
The agency added it’s taking mitigation steps for products that are already in or may be at risk of shortage, including looking for additional sources and asking other manufacturers to prepare to ramp up production, if needed.
“Importantly, we do not expect there to be any immediate significant impacts on supply given the products are currently at hospitals and in the distribution system,” the FDA said. “But this is a dynamic situation and FDA staff are in frequent communication with Pfizer and other manufacturers.”
Still, the plant may take weeks to come back online, Bourla said.
“I don’t think we know right now what type of shortages we may have,” he said in the press conference. “There are at least six weeks inventory out there in the channel. So I don’t think we’ll see anything, let’s say, in the next few weeks.”
The Pfizer facility makes injectable hospital drugs, which are often delivered intravenously, and include anesthetics, painkillers, and anti-infectives. The plant ships 200 million units of medicines globally each year, with 90% of the production going to the US market, according to the company.
Unknown Costs
Major wholesalers are limiting purchases of Pfizer products, Fox said, a move that will prevent hospitals from hoarding medicines.
There are shortages of 177 injectables in the US, according to the Utah service. The specific products made at the Pfizer plant aren’t public, and the company and the FDA have declined to provide a list.
The facility makes more than 150 medicines, according to the U.S. Pharmacopeia, a nonprofit that sets standards for drugs. Many of those have been in shortage recently, the group said Friday in a statement.
As far as the costs of bringing the plant back online, “I don’t know and I don’t care,” Bourla said. “I don’t want anyone to feel we didn’t do everything we could to bring medicines that are lifesaving” to those who need them.
Some 2,250 workers were inside the plant during the tornado, and all of them are safe. Pfizer will continue to pay employees while the plant remains shut.
Pfizer shares rose 1.7% as of close of markets on Friday.
(Updates with FDA statement starting from fifth paragraph)
Author: Nacha Cattan, Ike Swetlitz and Riley Griffin
