Akorn’s bankruptcy, recalls bring a drug to treat lead poisoning into shortage
A drug used to treat lead poisoning is now in short supply after Akorn Pharmaceuticals filed for bankruptcy and many of its products were recalled this spring.
Dimercaprol is on the FDA’s drug shortages list, with no date for resolution listed.
It’s “very frustrating” not to have an essential antidote available, as another injectable product that can be used to treat lead poisoning is also not readily available, according to Erin Fox, an expert on drug shortages and an adjunct professor at the College of Pharmacy at the University of Utah.
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