EpiPen auto-injectors are back in stock in pharmacies across Canada following a year-long intermittent shortage of both the junior and adult version of the devices.
“At this time, there is supply of both EpiPen 0.3 mg and EpiPen Jr (0.15 mg) auto-injectors at wholesalers, distributors and at pharmacies,” said Pfizer Canada in a short statement on Jan. 31. The company is working “towards ensuring consistent supply and are committed to improving this situation in the coming months.”
Canada’s health regulator first announced a supply shortage of EpiPen auto-injectors in January 2018 and then expanded its warning to include the junior version of the device in April.
The shortage of EpiPen in Canada was particularly of concern since, unlike the U.S. and U.K., there is no other epinephrine auto-injector currently on the market in the country. When the shortage became critical as back-to-school approached, at end of August 2018, Kaléo, the makers of the Auvi-Q auto-injector, were granted temporary authorization by Canada’s health minister to sell the adult and junior version of their device.
In the United States, EpiPen “supplies continue to vary from pharmacy to pharmacy,” Steve Danehy, Pfizer Inc.’s director of media relations, told Allergic Living. “We continue to ship the medicine and expect improvements in patient access through the first half of 2019.”
Meridian Technologies, a Pfizer subsidiary, manufactures the branded EpiPen and the Mylan generic equivalent at its Missouri facility. Meridian continues to “experience manufacturing constraints,” according to the FDA’s website.
Mylan encourages patients who are having difficulty filling their prescription to call customer relations: 800-796-9526.
December Update of U.S. Supply: Many U.S. Pharmacies Out of Mylan Auto-Injectors, as Shortage Drags On
