In late February, Gurnee, Ill.-based Akorn Operating Co. shuttered its business, adding instability to supply for more than 100 drugs. One of those medications is dimercaprol, an antidote intended to treat heavy metal poisoning, including arsenic, gold, lead and mercury.
In March, the End Drug Shortages Alliance gave the essential medicine a relatively low vulnerability score of 28.6 percent. Akorn’s only dimercaprol solution, Bal in Oil injection, 100 milligram/milliliter, 3 millimeter ampule, was discontinued months ago, according to the FDA and American Society of Health-System Pharmacists.
A less-preferred antidote to lead poisoning, edetate calcium disodium, is now being used as the main treatment — but that drug is in shortage, too.
The FDA told the Journal it is considering allowing hospitals to import foreign dimercaprol solutions.
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