Effects Of The Ongoing Pandemic On Bupivacaine HCI Supply

By Hamid Parsa, Vice President, Sales and Business Development Europe/Asia, Drug Substance, Cambrex

In March of 2020, the World Health Organization designated the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2, which causes the COVID-19 infectious disease, to be a global pandemic (WHO, 2020). Symptoms of the virus vary to include fever, cough, sore throat, and severe respiratory alignments, while some who catch the virus remain asymptomatic. As individuals continue to get critically ill, waves of lockdowns across the globe have hindered drug suppliers in multiple ways. Not only have certain requirement for drugs surpassed the supply capacity, but trade restrictions and logistical complications have made access to certain critical ingredients and drug products limited or impossible.

Throughout the pandemic, painkiller and sedative demands has spiked. Demand for Bupivacaine HCl, a powerful analgesic and anesthetic medicine, has dramatically increased. As global authorities work to fill gaps, drug manufacturers and contract manufacturing and developing organizations (CDMOs), such as Cambrex, have become critical in the efforts to stabilize the supply of Bupivacaine HCl and other essential drugs.