Baxter medicines in short supply after hurricane hits plant

Damage to a Baxter manufacturing facility caused by Hurricane Helene, which rolled across the east US a couple of weeks ago, has led to shortages in some critical medicines.

The plant in North Cove, North Carolina, was severely affected by flooding and had to be shut down at the end of September. It is Baxter's biggest manufacturing site and is also the largest supplier of intravenous and peritoneal dialysis solutions to the US market.

Now, the FDA has added three new products to its list of medicines in short supply as a result of the plant being taken offline – Dextrose 70% IV solution, Lactated Ringers IV Solution, and Peritoneal Dialysis Solution – which are no longer "commercially available in adequate supply to meet national demand."

Adding the three medicines to the shortages list means that, on a temporary basis, compounding pharmacies can now step in to fill the gap caused by Hurricane Helene, which caused widespread damage and an estimated 115 deaths in the states of North Carolina, Florida, Georgia, Tennessee, and South Carolina.

Helene was followed shortly afterwards by Hurricane Milton, which made landfall in Florida and also caused a huge storm surge that led to widespread flooding and claimed 16 lives. Experts suggest that climate change is causing hurricanes to become stronger and more frequent as they draw on the energy from warmer oceans, with rising sea levels raising the risk of severe flooding.

"The FDA is working continuously to address the shortages and supply disruptions to ensure patients have access to certain parenteral drugs, including IV solutions," said the regulator in a statement, which alluded to the "devastating impact" of the storm on Baxter's facility.

In response to the disruption, Baxter has started limiting what customers can order based on "historical purchases and medical necessity" to limit stockpiling and make sure access is equitable.

It is also hiking production at other sites and has been able to improve the supply of several critical care products, and is working with the FDA to allow the import of some products from other markets, according to a recent update.

An update on remediation work at the North Cove plant is due at Baxter's third-quarter results update on 24th October, but in the meantime the company has said its goal is "to restart North Cove production in phases and to be at 90% to 100% allocation of certain intravenous solution product codes by the end of 2024."

Photo by Marcelo Leal on Unsplash