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 Injectable opioid painkillers, which hospitals use to manage pain
after operations and in terminal illness, have been in short supply
for more than a year largely due to production problems at Pfizer,
the biggest supplier of the drugs.
Pfizer has said it is making progress on its recovery plan, but it
estimates that the supply of some of its injectables will not be
fully restored until later this year or in 2019.
Opioids are controlled substances and therefore manufacturers are
allocated quota for their active ingredients by the Drug Enforcement
Administration, limiting their ability to increase production.
Hikma said it had released more than 5 million hydromorphone 2ml
vials to U.S. hospitals in June and expected to release 3 million
vials in July.
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Daniel Motto, executive vice-president of Hikma's U.S. injectables
division, said the company was prioritizing the manufacture of
opioid products affected by this shortage including fentanyl,
meperidine, morphine and hydromorphone.
"We have the capacity in our FDA-inspected manufacturing facility in
Cherry Hill, New Jersey, for all CII opioid injectable products, and
believe we can now address the current shortage of these vital and
urgently needed medications, pending increased quota allowances from
the US Drug Enforcement Administration," he said.
(Reporting by Paul Sandle; editing by Jason Neely)
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