EpiPen Shortage In Some Parts Of U.S.: FDA

Federal health officials are warning of an EpiPen shortage in certain parts of the United States that it says is being caused by multiple factors, including pharmacy-level supply disruptions and a manufacturer issue.

"The FDA has been working closely with Mylan to understand the status of EpiPen production supply and has been in contact with the other manufacturers of epinephrine auto-injectors as well regarding their supply status," an agency spokeswoman told Patch in an emailed statement.

The FDA said there have been reports of local supply disruptions and Mylan has reported "intermittent manufacturing constraints." Mylan is still producing EpiPens and a number provided by the company will soon be posted to the FDA website so pharmacies and patients can locate EpiPens if they have difficulties.

The shortage is expected to be "short-term," the FDA said.

In addition to Mylan, a company called Impax that also makes an epinephrine auto-injector is also reporting an outage that is related to "good manufacturing practices." According to the FDA, Kaleo, a company that makes an epinephrine auto-injector called Auvi-Q, is currently not facing a shortage.

The allergy advocacy group FARE said it wrote a letter to FDA Commissioner Scott Gottlieb on May 1 to express concerns about the lack of availability of epinephrine auto-injectors. The group says that on May 3, the American Society of Health-System Pharmacists determined that there was a national shortage of epinephrine auto-injectors covering two of the three manufacturers that sell FDA-approved products in the U.S.

FARE said it has identified a shortage in almost the entire country and not necessarily a "spot shortage."

You can check the FDA drug shortages website here. The FDA says it will include a list of epinephrine auto-injector products that are available from other manufacturers as well as contact information for consumers and health care providers.

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