Syphilis drug shortage persists, expected to end in Q4

Pfizer’s shortage of penicillin G benzathine injection, an antibiotic for syphilis and other bacterial infections, is now predicted to last until the end of 2024. 

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Pfizer previously said the medication’s supply would rebound by the end of June, but in a March 8 update on the FDA’s drug shortage website, the drugmaker said the estimated recovery date is the fourth quarter of 2024. 

Two solutions are in limited availability and another, the 600,000 [iU]/1 mL solution, is unavailable until its next shipment in April. 

The FDA first reported the supply issue in April 2023, and Pfizer then said it would end within five months. A year later, clinicians are rationing penicillin, and the U.S. is importing solutions from a France-based drugmaker as syphilis rates dramatically increase.

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