After Hurricane Helena paralyzed the largest intravenous injection production base in the United States, the largest intravenous injection manufacturer in the country, Baxter International, is currently working to restore the delivery of this important medical product. During this period, many American medical institutions have postponed a large number of surgeries and taken other measures to save the few tight supplies.
Baite International recently announced that it expects to resume production at its Marion, North Carolina factory in stages by the end of this year.
Previously, Hurricane Helena, which ravaged the area in late September, caused severe damage to the factory and destroyed surrounding bridges and roads. The production of the factory has been suspended to this day, and this severe climate disaster has made the transportation of finished products from the Baite factory and the transportation of materials needed for the repair factory even more complex.
Baxter, headquartered in Deerfield, Illinois, USA, stated that there is currently no specific timeline for restoring the factory's production to pre hurricane levels.
However, the good news is that Baxter has intensified the production of intravenous injections at other global production bases and is working with federal regulatory agencies to obtain permission to import these products. Last weekend, the first batch of temporary imported products approved by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) arrived in the United States.
In its latest statement released last Thursday, Baxter announced that it began shipping to the United States from two overseas Baxter factories (Mexico and Spain) that previously had FDA import permits in mid October, and more goods are currently in transit.
The company has also started importing intravenous injections from its five international factories located in China (two factories), Canada, Ireland, and the UK, which just received temporary import approval from the FDA this month.
Baite Company expects that by the end of this year, there will be about 200 aircraft importing intravenous injections from Europe and Asia, totaling about 18000 tons of supplies.
Baite Company claims that with these products and other supplies, it can meet approximately 60% of the goods that customers typically receive. The company expects to increase the shipment volume of certain products in early November, thereby restoring the shipment volume of certain products to the usual 90% -100% by the end of the year.
Medical institutions in the United States are eagerly awaiting supplies
Currently, severe supply shortages have led some American hospitals and healthcare providers to rack their brains in trying to save on intravenous injection usage, including delaying surgeries in some cases.
Baite International is the largest manufacturer of intravenous infusion and dialysate in the United States, so the impact of supply restrictions and interruptions can be extremely significant. Intravenous infusion has various medical uses. Some illnesses, such as dehydration, can be treated with alternative methods. But other illnesses, such as organ transplant surgery, are irreplaceable.
Brigham General Hospital, located in Boston, USA, announced in a statement that it resumed all surgical schedules last week after postponing some elective surgeries for several days to save intravenous infusion supply.
Donald Yealy, Chief Medical Officer of the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, stated that doctors and nurses at the hospital are using alternative hydration methods (such as electrolyte drinks) as much as possible to save infusion volume for patients who require intravenous fluids. Yealy said, "This alone can save a lot of intravenous infusion usage
Currently, other healthcare manufacturers have also increased their production efforts in an attempt to fill the gap. German healthcare giant B Braun Group of Cos.'s medical technology company B Braun Medical stated that the company has increased production at its intravenous injection factories located in Irvine, California and Daytona Beach, Florida, and is taking other measures to provide intravenous injections.
It is worth mentioning that in recent months, the shortage of intravenous injections worldwide has not only occurred in the United States. The Australian Medicines Agency also added intravenous injection to the list of drugs in short supply on July 26th.
Industry insiders have stated that physiological saline (intravenous injection) is composed of sodium chloride and distilled water, with sodium chloride accounting for over 70% of the total production cost and having a relatively low added value. Therefore, there is not enough global enterprise engaged in the production of physiological saline solution.