Possible Drug Shortages Expected Following Tornado Damage to Pfizer

Pfizer has issued a warning to hospitals that more than 30 drugs may experience disruptions in their supply chain due to the tornado that caused damage to one of its plants in North Carolina.

In a letter sent to its hospital customers on Friday, Pfizer stated that it had identified approximately 65 formulations of these drugs that could encounter “continued or new supply disruptions in the near-term.”

The company revealed that its inventory levels for these medicines, including injectable fentanyl for pain relief and the anesthetic lidocaine, were “less than three months” across its distribution centers and the wholesale chain.

Several of the drugs mentioned by Pfizer were already facing shortages, as reported by the American Society of Health-System Pharmacists.

Pfizer’s facility in Rocky Mount, N.C., is responsible for producing almost 25 percent of the company’s sterile injectable medicines used in U.S. hospitals. With over 1.4 million square feet of manufacturing space, it is one of the world’s largest sterile injectable facilities. The plant manufactures anesthesia, painkillers, therapeutics, anti-infectives, and surgical muscle relaxants.

The site experienced significant damage from an EF3 tornado, according to the National Weather Service.

Pfizer stated that the majority of the damage occurred in the warehouse facility, which stores raw materials, packaging supplies, and finished medicines awaiting quality assurance approval.

The Food and Drug Administration assured that it does not anticipate any immediate significant impacts on the drug supply due to the plant damage. However, the agency warned about the possibility of localized disruptions in supply caused by Pfizer’s potential restriction on availability.

Pfizer mentioned that any products that had limited supply prior to the tornado incident may continue to have allocations in place that are not directly affected by the situation in Rocky Mount.

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