Most interesting statement:

"The FDA closed the company's Marietta, Pennsylvania plant due to quality control problems late last year. ``Portions of that plant were closed for renovations in December,'' Wyeth spokesperson Doug Petkus told Reuters Health. This is the same plant that produces Wydase, an absorption enhancer of other drugs, which has resulted in a nationwide shortage of that drug as well."

Closed in December, 1999. Are you thinking what I'm thinking?

US running short of rattlesnake anti-venom

http://dailynews.yahoo.com/htx/nm/20000828/hl/venom_1.html

-- K (infosurf@yahoo.com), August 28, 2000

Answers

Certainly more than meets the eye.

More like a deadly fangy postion to me.

I've noticed that the startup date is almost upon us. And yet no mention of when it will actually happen.

K you posted this July 19, 2000

And now it looks like there's not enough stockpiled?, WOW!

http://www.greenspun.com/bboard/q-and-a-fetch-msg.tcl?msg_id=003WSX

http://biz.yahoo.com/apf/000718/snake_seru_4.html

Snakebite Serum Shortage Warned By JOANN LOVIGLIO Associated Press Writer PHILADELPHIA

(AP) -- The manufacturer of a widely used snakebite serum is warning of shortages of the drug.

The drug, made by Wyeth-Ayerst Laboratories, based in the Philadelphia suburb of St. Davids, is the only product available to neutralize toxins from three types of poisonous North American snakes: rattlesnakes, cottonmouths and copperheads.

The shortage is due to the closing of a plant in Marietta, Pa., for renovations.

``There is none of the product being produced right now,'' Wyeth-Ayerst spokesman Doug Petkus said Tuesday.

He said orders are being filled on an emergency basis only, and if hospitals use the serum prudently, supplies should last until the plant is reopened next spring.

Wyeth-Ayerst sent nearly a thousand letters to clinics nationwide last week informing them of the situation.

Approximately 7,000 bites from poisonous snakes are reported annually in the United States, resulting in about 15 deaths, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Most happen during the summer, and the majority are in the Southeast and Southwest.

The serum, or antivenin, reduces swelling and tissue damage.

University of Pennsylvania toxicologist Dr. Robert Hendrickson called the shortage reason for concern. ``It's the only thing that's really going to help. There's not a whole lot that can be done otherwise,'' he said.

-- (perry@ofuzzy1.com), August 29, 2000.

Hi!

You are correct, I did post this before. Yesterday I found this new article with some additional info, so I posted again. I wonder what other shortages in drugs, etc. that there are out there that no one is talking about yet. The drug company had to notify the medical profession of the shortage because so many people go hiking for vacation or I am sure that nothing would have been said.

-- K (infosurf@yahoo.com), August 29, 2000.