(Reuters) -Pfizer Inc on Thursday said the drugmaker will make some products available only through its emergency ordering process until further notice, as part of additional steps to manage inventory at its Rocky Mount facility.
The facility, which is one of the largest factories for sterile injectable medicines in the world, was struck by a tornado on July 19.
The drugmaker said it was taking the additional measures out of an abundance of caution for products with high medical need.
Pfizer’s list of 12 products includes sodium chloride injection, sterile solutions dextrose injection and heart failure medication dobutamine injection, which will only be available to order via direct shipment from the company or its representatives effective immediately, it said.
Pfizer also said hospitals should check availability of these products with their wholesaler or distribution chain, or check for appropriate therapeutic alternatives before placing the emergency order.
“We believe this is the most responsible approach to enable equitable distribution” the drugmaker said in a statement referring to the list of products.
The company said that for all other products manufactured at the plant that were not included in the list and currently available in the distribution chain, customers will continue to receive their orders.
The tornado that struck the site completely destroyed the warehouse, but production facilities there did not suffer major damage, Pfizer had said earlier.
CEO Albert Bourla said the facility had about six weeks of inventory so hospitals would not feel the absence or production for some weeks.
Earlier this week, he said the company is still assessing how long it will take to bring the plant back on line.
(Reporting by Sriparna Roy and Bhanvi Satija in Bengaluru; Editing by Pooja Desai)
