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By Meg Tirrell, John Bonifield and Brenda Goodman
Pfizer is warning hospitals that “new or continued supply disruptions” may occur after an EF-3 storm damaged its Rocky Mount plant in North Carolina last week.
In a Friday letter to its customers, the company informed hospitals that 30 of their products had less than 3 months’ supply in stock. These included certain doses of epinephrine (for allergic reactions), fentanyl (for severe pain), and lidocaine, for pain relief.
In an attempt to assist customers in planning for today’s patient care, the company sent a letter to CNN that outlined the subset of Rocky Mount by NDC products which may be subjected new or continued supply disruptions. This subset was based on Pfizer’s market share, and the inventory level of our wholesalers and distribution centers that is less than 3 months.
Pfizer says that the three-month stock metric is a measure of extreme caution, based on information available. It does not represent an estimated production restart. The company had stopped production at the plant and did not have a timeline for when they would restart.
Some of the drugs are on the FDA’s list of shortages. Supply chain experts are concerned that the closure of this plant will worsen an already high level of shortages. Erin Fox who is the associate chief pharmacist for shared services at University of Utah Health and tracks drug shortages, did not seem to be too concerned by Pfizer’s list.
Fox, in an email to CNN, said that while things could worsen, based on the information Pfizer provided, it is not something we’ll have to worry about for a very long time. Many organizations are able to handle the situation because many drugs were in shortage.
Pfizer, according to the FDA has placed many of their products under strict distribution to make sure that they are accessible to all those who need them and avoid hoarding.
This could cause localized disruptions of supply, depending on the contractual relationship.
Pfizer stated in its letter that it would refine the information it provides and will provide updates as more is learned from an assessment of the site.
The manufacturers have said that because a damaged warehouse and not production lines were the cause of any shortages, they will last less time than if manufacturing was shut down.
The plant is located on 250 acres of land in eastern Pennsylvania. It has a manufacturing area of more than 1,400,000 square feet, which makes it the largest manufacturer of injectable sterile drugs worldwide.
Fox stated that the recovery of the site will be slow, but the good news is the production lines were not affected. This seems like the ideal scenario if a tornado were to hit.
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