The powerful tornado that seriously damaged a Pfizer pharmaceutical plant in North Carolina on July 19 is expected to threaten production lines that usually supply massive amounts of medicine to hospitals.
Pfizer confirmed that the massive manufacturing complex in Rocky Mount, North Carolina, was damaged by a twister that landed quickly after midday. The Big Pharma company added in an email that it had no reports of severe injuries and all employees were safely evacuated and accounted for. (Related: Tornado tears through Pfizer plant in North Carolina, destroying 50,000 pallets of drugs and vaccines.)
Pfizer's Rocky Mountain facility is a complex of several massive buildings storing large quantities of medicine. Reports following the incident detail how large portions of the roof were ripped open, and many medications being manufactured at the facility being affected by the natural disaster.
"I've got reports of 50,000 pallets of medicine that are strewn across the facility and damaged through the rain and the wind," said Nash County Sheriff Keith Stone.
The plant manufactures anesthesia and other drugs in addition to almost 25 percent of all sterile injectable medications used in hospitals in the United States.
According to Erin Fox, senior pharmacy director at the University of Utah Health, the damage "will likely lead to long-term shortages, while Pfizer works to either move production to other sites or rebuilds."
"We are assessing the situation to determine the impact on production. Our thoughts are with our colleagues, our patients, and the community as we rebuild from this weather incident," Pfizer said.
FDA, Pfizer claim disaster won't affect medicine supply
Meanwhile, U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Commissioner Dr. Robert Califf said on July 21 that the agency does not expect any instant serious impacts on supply after the tornado.
Califf said in a statement that the agency is working with Pfizer to evaluate the effect of the tornado at the Rocky Mount plant, with a broad review of products that could be affected and the present availability of these medicines.
The evaluation will also take into consideration what is in Pfizer's other warehouses and what is stored by wholesalers and distributors if those corporations are willing to share that information with the FDA.
"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, but this is a dynamic situation and FDA staff are in frequent communication with Pfizer and other manufacturers. The FDA will work closely with partners in government, industry and the broader health care system to minimize the impact on patient care," Califf said.
The FDA claims it has identified fewer than 10 drugs for which the plant is the lone source for the American market, but stated that a lot of those were definite formulations for which there should be substitutes or several weeks worth of supply kept at other Pfizer plants and warehouses.
"For those products produced at this facility that are already in, or may be at risk of shortage, the FDA has initiated mitigation steps, such as looking for additional sources and asking other manufacturers to prepare to ramp up production, if needed," said Califf.
He warned that allocation standards could cause localized supply disruptions, subject to contractual relationships for supplies.
"More broadly, this incident underscores that a robust, resilient and safe drug supply chain is essential for public health and national security. Redundancy of manufacturing locations, which can include domestic locations, and of suppliers is important to mitigate risks to supply that can occur from natural disasters, geopolitical conflicts or other less predictable events," Califf added.
Pfizer has a third of the total sterile injectable drug market for hospitals in America, and Califf said eight percent of U.S. consumption is provided by the North Carolina plant.
Learn more about Big Pharma companies like Pfizer at BigPharmaNews.com.
Watch the video below to know more about the Pfizer plant destroyed by a tornado in North Carolina.
This video is from the World Alternative Media channel on Brighteon.com.
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