Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Drug Supply Chain Mostly Safe As Tornado-Hit Pfizer Plant Is Assessed
Pfizer says a tornado that ripped through a key manufacturing plant in North Carolina does not appear to have caused 鈥渁ny major damage鈥 to areas that produce medicines. The company reported most damage from the storm occurred at a warehouse that stores raw materials, packaging supplies, and finished medicines awaiting release by quality assurance personnel. As a result, it remains unclear about the extent to which destruction at the facility 鈥 which produces nearly 8% of all sterile injectables used in U.S. hospitals 鈥 will exacerbate a growing shortage of prescription drugs across the country. (Silverman, 7/21)
Most of the destruction from a tornado that tore through eastern North Carolina Wednesday and struck a large Pfizer pharmaceutical plant affected its storage facility, rather than its medicine production areas, the company said Friday. The drugmaker鈥檚 ability to salvage production equipment and other essential materials could mitigate what experts feared would be a major blow to an already strained system as the United States grapples with existing drug shortages. (Schoenbaum, 7/22)
"We are moving full speed to bring this manufacturing plant into action again," Bourla said, noting that crews were working to restore power to the plant. In the meantime, the company is trying to identify alternative manufacturing locations in the U.S. The Rocky Mount plant is one of the largest factories for sterile injectable medicines in the world. Its products include anesthesia, painkillers and anti-infective medicines for use in hospitals. (Erman and Ljunggren, 7/22)
Meanwhile, the destruction of the plant puts the drug supply chain in focus 鈥
Prior to the catastrophe at the Pfizer plant, the American Society of Health-System Pharmacists already identified shortages of several sterile injectable products. Among them is sterile water, which drugmaker American Regent stopped manufacturing in 2021, and other companies have struggled to keep up with the increased demand since then. Other products, including certain sodium chloride bags and injections, have been in shortage since 2017, according to the ASHP. (Devereaux, 7/21)
