Taiwan has enough penicillin G benzathine in stock to last two months and is to import more early next month, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) said yesterday, amid reports that the US is facing a shortage of the antibiotic used to treat syphilis.
The US FDA in April reported a shortage of penicillin G benzathine, while earlier this month US drugmaker Pfizer said there was an “impending stock out situation” for some of its penicillin injection products, including a penicillin G benzathine injection.
The injection is commonly used for treating syphilis and group A Streptococcus infection, FDA Deputy Director-General Cheng Hwei-fang (陳惠芳) said.
Photo: CNA
“We currently have sufficient stock for about two months of usage, which would last until the end of August. We’ve also contacted the importer, and the company said it plans to import the next batch in July,” she said.
There is one drug permit license for penicillin G benzathine injection in Taiwan and about 4,300 syringes are in stock, while about 2,000 penicillin G benzathine injections are administered each month, she said.
The importer plans to bring in about 8,000 syringes in July, so there should be no shortage, she added.
The Ministry of Health and Welfare in April upgraded the FDA’s drug shortage reporting mechanism to the ministerial level and expanded the mechanism to include Western and Chinese herbal medicine. The FDA has been reporting shortages of Western drugs routinely.
Cheng said that the administration received reports of potential shortages of 18 types of drugs between June 14 and Tuesday last week.
Along with seven types of drugs identified in its previous report, the FDA is closely following 25 types of drugs, she said.
Seven types were determined not to be in short supply and nine are being reviewed, while the FDA is recommending the use of alternative brands for nine others, she said.
Separately, Cheng said that Taiwan does not currently sell imported cough syrups, after the WHO last year found that medication made by an Indian drugmaker contained dangerous levels of toxins, diethylene glycol and ethylene glycol, which can cause liver failure and led to the deaths of more than 300 children in several countries.
She said that all the FDA-approved cough syrups currently sold in Taiwan are made domestically, and that drug companies must produce them according to the standards of the Pharmaceutical Inspection Co-operation Scheme and Good Manufacturing Practices.
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