June 16, 2023 – Drug company Pfizer says supplies of Bicillin – an injectable form of penicillin – will be in short supply soon.
In a letter to customers posted on the FDA website, Pfizer said prefilled Bicillin L-A pediatric syringes will probably run short by the end of June and Bicillin C-R syringes could run short by the third quarter of this year.
Bicillin L-A is used to treat strep throat, tonsillitis, and other bacterial infections.Bicillin C-R is used to treat moderately severe to severe upper-respiratory tract infections like scarlet fever and skin infections like erysipelas.
The shortage of the antibiotic is caused by increases in demand, an increase in syphilis infection rates, and competitive shortages, Pfizer said. The company said inventory should start recovering in the second and third quarters of 2024.
The number of syphilis cases soared in 2021 to the highest total in more than 70 years, the CDC said in a report issued last April. From 2020 to 2021, cases increased by 32%, to 176,713, the CDC said. That’s the highest total number of U.S. syphilis cases since 1950.
Other drugs are in short supply in the United States, including child medications and ADHD treatments, according to a report from the U.S. Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs issued in March.