Pfizer plant damage from NC tornado means drug shortages, thousands out of work

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ROCKY MOUNT, N.C. — Wednesday’s EF-3 tornado severely damaged the Pfizer plant in Rocky Mount.

Sky 5 flew over the site Wednesday, where trailers were overturned, the roof was crushed and the building was splintered.

On Thursday, Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla tweeted a statement about the tornado:

“All of us at Pfizer have spent the past 24 hours concerned about our colleagues and contractors at our Rocky Mount facility, which sustained a tremendous amount of damage yesterday when a tornado touched down in the community,” Bourla tweeted. “I am very relieved to share that all have been confirmed safe, and no serious injuries were reported.

“Our colleagues at the site do incredibly important work manufacturing sterile injectable products used by hospitals and health care providers around the world. We already have teams on the ground assessing the damage and supporting our colleagues, and we are working urgently to determine the best way to get back online as quickly as possible, while ensuring the safety of our people.

“On behalf of all 80,000+ Pfizer colleagues around the world, I send our best wishes to the entire Rocky Mount community for a speedy recovery.”

Bourla is planning to visit the site on Friday.

Pfizer also released the following statement: “At this point there are no reports of serious injuries. We are assessing the situation to determine the impact on production. Our thoughts are with our colleagues, our patients, and the community as we rebuild from this weather incident.”

Pfizer said all employees were safely evacuated and accounted for, and that it is still assessing damage.

A document from Pfizer shows it has more than 3,200 employees as its facility at 4285 North Wesleyan Blvd.

Nash County Sheriff Keith Stone told WRAL News that 50,000 pallets of medicine were destroyed when the tornado hit Pfizer. According to Pfizer’s website, this facility produces nearly 25% of Pfizer’s sterile injectables for U.S. hospitals.

It’s not yet clear what impact the damage will have on distribution and availability of Pfizer products.

The distribution and storage buildings were destroyed, and more than 100 vehicles and storage trucks were damaged at the plant.

The facility will remain closed until further notice.

On Thursday afternoon, a reporter asked Rocky Mount City Manager Keith Rogers Jr. how long it would take to repair the Pfizer building.

“No timeline on that from us right now, but we are communicating with Pfizer and we stand ready to support them in whatever they may need,” Rogers said.

State Rep. Allen Chesser, R-Nash County, visited the Pfizer plant on Thursday with House Speaker Tim Moore.

“Undoubtedly, there’s going to be an economic impact to this,” Chesser said. “It’s going to take time to clean it up.”

Chesser explained what the plant looked like on Thursday.

“It looks like a bomb went off,” he said.

Chesser mentioned how authorities need to make sure everything is accounted for in the plant because it has controlled substances.

“We’re going to make sure the state does all it can to protect these jobs, to take care of these employees,” Moore said.

Possible effects of NC Pfizer plant destroyed

The North Carolina plant produces injectables — like drugs used in IV infusions or that are delivered under the skin or into patient muscles.

The plant makes anesthesia drugs, anti-infectives (that typically treat things like fungal infections) and drugs that temporarily paralyze muscles. The latter are used in surgeries or intensive care units for patients who are placed on ventilators, said Mike Ganio, who studies drug shortages at the American Society of Health-System Pharmacists.

The Pfizer site does not make or store the company’s COVID-19 vaccine or treatments Comirnaty and Paxlovid.

How big is the Pfizer site?

Pfizer bought the eastern North Carolina factory in 2015 as part of its acquisition of the drugmaker Hospira.

There is more than 1.4 million square feet of manufacturing space, or the equivalent of more than 24 football fields, and 22 packaging lines.

How will this affect hospital drug supplies?

It will likely lead to some long-term shortages while Pfizer shifts production to other locations or rebuilds, said Erin Fox, senior pharmacy director at University of Utah Health.

But the specifics of which drugs might be involved in a shortage and how long that shortage will go on aren’t clear.

“Anyone who is aware of this event is basically holding their collective breath at this point, hoping for the best and waiting for news,” Ganio said.

He noted that drugmakers tend to ship finished products quickly from manufacturing sites, which may limit how much inventory was damaged by the twister.

Can hospitals handle shortages?

They have several tools to soften the impact for patients.

Some hospitals have started increasing inventories of stored drugs instead of relying on regular deliveries from a wholesaler. Ganio said that it’s particularly true of drugs that hospital executives know will be hard to get.

Hospitals also may switch to different forms of a drug by giving a patient an antibiotic pill instead of an IV if that person can handle it. If a larger vial size of a drug is more readily available, they may order that and then fill several syringes with smaller doses ready for use.

Aren’t hospitals already dealing with drug shortages?

Yes, it’s been happening for years. But right now, hospitals are specifically seeing shortages for things like chemotherapy drugs.

The impact of drug shortages isn’t limited to hospitals. Drug stores and doctor’s offices have also seen shortages.

Overall, there were 309 active drug shortages in the U.S. at the end of June, according to the University of Utah Drug Information Service. That’s up from 295 at the end of last year and the highest total recorded since 2014.

What will Pfizer do after Wednesday’s tornado?

The company hasn’t said what happens next.

Drugmakers can shift manufacturing to other locations. But that can be complicated because they must reroute raw materials — usually made elsewhere — to other locations and may have to train workers to make a product.

Pfizer also may have to figure out whether to cut production of another product to squeeze in more manufacturing at the new site.

“It’s not always as easy as just flipping a switch to increase production,” Ganio said.

NC Department of Commerce visits Pfizer plant

On Thursday, North Carolina Department of Commerce Secretary Machelle Baker Sanders was at the Pfizer plant to speak with company and local leaders. She also spoke Wednesday with Pfizer leaders after the tornado passed.

Several Department of Commerce teams are working with Pfizer and area leaders to assess the damage and make recovery plans.

“While we do not yet have a full assessment of the company’s operational situation, Commerce and the state will be proactive in our support for the company, the community and the impacted workers,” a Department of Commerce spokesperson wrote in a statement. “We’ve already been in contact with the U.S. Department of Labor to explore all potential avenues for financial and other support resources.”

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Associated Press reporters Gary Robertson in Raleigh, North Carolina, and JoNel Aleccia in Temecula, California, contributed to this report. Murphy reported from Indianapolis.