Pharmaceutical Processing World

  • Home
  • Regulatory
    • Recalls
  • Pharmaceutical Processing
  • Facility
  • Supply Chain
  • Equipment and Materials
  • Contract Manufacturing
  • Resources
    • Voices
  • Advertise
  • SUBSCRIBE

Puerto Rico Hurricane May Cause Shortage Of Hospital IV Bags

By Linda A. Johnson, AP Medical Writer | October 13, 2017

A key U.S. maker of hospital products said it expects a temporary shortage of small saline bags because of the hurricane that hit Puerto Rico.

The hurricane wiped out the island’s electrical grid, shutting down Baxter’s three Puerto Rico factories for several days. The Deerfield, Illinois-based company is still ramping up production by using generators.

The Food and Drug Administration said Friday that it’s working with Baxter to limit any shortages, helping the company get fuel and manufacturing supplies and ship products. The FDA also is letting Baxter temporarily import its saline “Mini-Bags,” as they’re called, from the company’s factories in Ireland and Australia.

The IV bags are widely used in hospitals to give patients fluids and medicines.

Baxter is the biggest maker of small saline bags for the U.S. market. A couple other companies make similar products, but since 2014 there have been shortages across the industry.

“Further shortage of this product could potentially put U.S. health care at risk,” FDA Commissioner Dr. Scott Gottlieb said in a statement Friday.

Last week, the FDA said it’s worried there could be shortages of about 40 critical medicines because of the disruptions caused by the hurricane at the dozens of drug and device factories in Puerto Rico.

Baxter and other companies have said that before Maria hit, they rushed to ship finished products off the island. They’ve also been moving inventory around to try to boost the supply for the U.S. market.

(Source: Associated Press)

Related Articles Read More >

This is the logo of Hikma.
Hikma to spend another $1B on US manufacturing, R&D
Sandoz Logo 2025
Sandoz breaks ground on biosimilar plant in Slovenia
Nymi Logo_2022 (1)
Nymi, Caliber partner on passwordless authentication for pharma manufacturing
Building a resilient pharma supply chain
“ppw
EXPAND YOUR KNOWLEDGE AND STAY CONNECTED
Get the latest news, technologies, and developments in Pharmaceutical Processing.

DeviceTalks Tuesdays

DeviceTalks Tuesdays

MEDTECH 100 INDEX

Medtech 100 logo
Market Summary > Current Price
The MedTech 100 is a financial index calculated using the BIG100 companies covered in Medical Design and Outsourcing.
Pharmaceutical Processing World
  • Subscribe to our E-Newsletter
  • Contact Us
  • About Us
  • R&D World
  • Drug Delivery Business News
  • Drug Discovery & Development
  • DeviceTalks
  • MassDevice
  • Medical Design & Outsourcing
  • MEDICAL TUBING + EXTRUSION
  • Medical Design Sourcing
  • Medtech100 Index
  • R&D 100 Awards

Copyright © 2025 WTWH Media LLC. All Rights Reserved. The material on this site may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, cached or otherwise used, except with the prior written permission of WTWH Media
Privacy Policy | Advertising | About Us

Search Pharmaceutical Processing World

  • Home
  • Regulatory
    • Recalls
  • Pharmaceutical Processing
  • Facility
  • Supply Chain
  • Equipment and Materials
  • Contract Manufacturing
  • Resources
    • Voices
  • Advertise
  • SUBSCRIBE