Hikma Pharmaceuticals PLC, the multinational generic pharmaceutical company, has begun releasing significant quantities of hydromorphone to US hospitals to help ease a current shortage of injectable opioids used to treat patients.
In response to this shortage, Hikma released more than five million hydromorphone 2ml vials to US hospitals during June and expects to release another three million vials during July.
The current shortage of injectable opioids in the US started to hit hospitals last summer, after the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) found sterility and other serious problems at a Pfizer factory in Kansas. Pfizer accounts for approximately 60% of the country's injectable opioids and had to temporarily cease manufacturing to deal with the issues.
Daniel Motto, Executive Vice President of Hikma’s US Injectables Division, commented: “We continue to prioritise the manufacture of opioid products affected by this shortage including fentanyl, meperidine, morphine and hydromorphone to provide hospitals and doctors with the medicines they need to best treat their patients.
we can now address the current shortage of these vital and urgently needed medications
“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.”