The tornado that ripped through a major Pfizer pharmaceutical plant in North Carolina on Wednesday “almost completely destroyed” the plant’s warehouse, which stored raw materials, packaging supplies and finished medications awaiting release to hospitals across the United States, Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla said during a press conference on Friday.
The company is working with the Food and Drug Administration, which on Friday said it was still trying to gauge the impact the natural disaster could have on the nation’s drug supply. The plant, based in Rocky Mount, North Carolina, made about 150 medicines, many of which are used by hospitals, including fentanyl and morphine for pain management, and anesthetics for surgery. Half of the drugs made at the facility are on the FDA’s essential medicines list, according to the United States Pharmacopeia, a group that tracks drug supply chains.
A review from USP released Friday found many of the medications were already at risk of a shortage before the tornado occurred.
The Pfizer plant is “obviously an important contributor to the U.S. supply chain,” said Vimala Raghavendran, vice president of informatics product development at the organization.
Assessing the damage will be difficult, according to Pfizer, as only a small number of people have limited access to the facility due to hazards still present from the tornado.
“We are watching the situation closely as it evolves,” Chanapa Tantibanchachai, an FDA spokesperson, said in an email.
Michael Ganio, senior director of pharmacy practice and quality at the American Society of Health-System Pharmacists (ASHP), said that damage to warehouses storing supplies and finished products would be likely easier to recover from, by ramping up production again.
Repairing or replacing equipment to make the drugs would be a more challenging and slower process, he added.
Bourla said that the production facility didn’t suffer any damage. Still, he said, the company is exploring…
Read the full article here
