CNN
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Pfizer, the maker of Vicillin, a long-acting injectable form of the antibiotic penicillin, has warned doctors it will run out of a pediatric formulation by the end of June. Adult formulations are also expected to be in short supply, but not expected to go away.
company sent a letter The U.S. Food and Drug Administration posted to clinicians this week.
Vicillin is one of the antibiotics doctors can use to treat common childhood infections. Pfizer says it is not widely used in pediatrics because children prefer other options such as amoxicillin.
“It’s a long-acting penicillin,” says Erin Fox, a pharmacist at the University of Utah who’s been following amoxicillin. says Mr. Drug shortage.
But Fox said the shots are painful, so “no one wants to use them unless they have to.”
In adults, Vicillin is recommended for the treatment of the sexually transmitted disease syphilis.
Pfizer said it is prioritizing the production of adult formulations where there are not many alternatives.
Fox says it’s the right thing to do. “The adult formulation of Vicillin LA is most important because it is the only product available to treat pregnant syphilis patients,” she said.
Syphilis can be passed from mother to baby in the womb. Up to half of babies infected in this way die shortly before or shortly after birth. Even if the baby survives, it can face lifelong effects such as blindness and hearing loss from the infection.
The prevalence of syphilis is steadily increasing and will increase by more than 30% among adults in 2021. According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Preventionputting further pressure on the limited supply of therapeutics.
Pfizer said supplies were tight in the fall and winter when the antibiotic amoxicillin ran out and doctors began using vicillin as a recommended replacement.
The company is working to increase its supply of Vicillin, but the production of the antibiotic is highly regulated and the manufacturing of the product is so complex that it cannot ramp up production as quickly as it would like. It has said.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration said in a statement, “We are aware of the potential impact that the unavailability of certain products may have on healthcare providers and patients.”
“The FDA does not manufacture drugs and cannot require drug companies to manufacture drugs, increase drug production, or change the distribution of drugs, but the public believes that the FDA works with many manufacturers and other companies. Rest assured that we are working closely with the supply chain to understand, mitigate, and prevent or mitigate the impact of intermittent or reduced supply of certain products,” the FDA said.
