Survey Shows Nearly All Pharm Techs Face Drug Shortages, Pfizer Plant Shortages Continue Until 2024

Nearly 96 percent of pharmacy technicians recently surveyed said they are facing drug shortages, primarily for chemotherapy drugs, medicines for ADHD, GLP-1 agonists for weight loss and diabetes, and local anesthetics such as lidocaine, while Pfizer reopens its NC plant — but only partially.

With the shortages continuing, the survey conducted by the Pharmacy Technician Certification Board (PTCB) also reported that 90 percent of technicians said they recommend alternative drugs when available, but nearly half the time (45 percent), they are unable to fill that prescription.

Adding to the supply chain shortage factors created by COVID-19, Pfizer’s Rocky Mount, N.C., facility was hit by a tornado on July 19 knocking out 25 percent of that company’s injectables capacity. The company announced Monday it had restarted a majority of manufacturing at that plant — but “The impact of the tornado on the site is expected to affect the supply of medicines from the Rocky Mount facility until at least mid-2024.”

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