Video: Tornado rips through Pfizer manufacturing plant amid drug shortage in US

A Pfizer pharmaceutical plant in Rocky Mount, North Carolina, one of the largest sterile injectable product facilities in the world, suffered a heavy damage from a tornado, worsening drug shortage across the United States.

The drugmaker in a statement said that all their employees were safe at the facility and added that they were assessing the situation to determine the impact on production.

"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 stated in a tweet.

Meanwhile, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) said it is evaluating the situation and “will work with the company to understand any potential impact to the nation’s drug supply.”

According to a report by Bloomberg, At least 129 sterile injectable drugs are in short supply in the US, including mainstay cancer drugs cisplatin and carboplatin. “This could be a big hit on the drug supply in the US,” said Stephen Schondelmeyer, a professor at the University of Minnesota who studies the pharmaceutical industry. Many sterile injectable drugs are only made by one company, he said.

The disaster struck as the US was facing a nine-year-high of drug shortages — 309 medicines are in short supply, according to Erin Fox, who runs the University of Utah’s drug information service, the report added.

The North Carolina Pfizer plant, which produces nearly 30% of all sterile injectables used in the hospitals, makes injectable drugs such as anesthetics, painkillers, anti-infective medicines, neuromuscular blockers along with vials and syringes. It also sends drugs to other countries, shipping more than 200 million units annually, according to the company’s website.

The Rocky Mountain facility employs over 4,500 professionals, according to Pfizer's website.

(With inputs from agencies)

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