Pfizer is warning physicians that it expects a new shortage of Bicillin L-A, a long-acting penicillin injection that is currently the single recommended treatment for syphilis during pregnancy, CNN reported July 16.
The drugmaker’s alert follows a July 10 recall of certain lots found to contain floating particles, which Pfizer traced to faulty stoppers from an outside vendor. The company said no adverse reactions have yet been reported.
“We have identified the root cause to be associated with stoppers supplied from an external vendor and are implementing the appropriate corrective and preventative actions,” the company said in a statement to the news outlet. “We fully recognize the importance of this medicine for patients and are working as quickly as possible to resolve the matter.”
Bicillin L-A most recently saw a shortage in 2023. As a result, the FDA allowed imports of two equivalent products, Extencilline and Lentocillin, which were imported from Portugal and sold by Mark Cuban’s Cost Plus Drugs.
For now, Pfizer has advised customers that it will give an update on the Bicillin supply no later than mid-August and said until stock is recovered, it will ration the available supply for the shots. Providers will be asked to fill out medical request forms and the company will send supplies on a per-patient system.
“We’re in the midst of a congenital syphilis crisis, and we’ve been calling for an emergency declaration for congenital syphilis for years,” said Jeffrey Klausner, MD, a professor of clinical population and public health sciences at the Los Angeles-based University of Southern California’s Keck School of Medicine. “This threatens to make that even worse.”
