The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, the war in Ukraine, rising fuel costs, manufacturing concerns and the ripple of other global events have led to supply chain issues across the world that, in the United States, has been most recently highlighted by a shortage of baby formula.
Aptamil maker Danone SA stepped up shipments of infant formula from Europe to address a shortage in the United States, according to U.S customs data and an analysis of ocean cargo data by shipping consultancy Ocean Audit for Reuters.
Abbott Laboratories and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration are on track to reopen the company’s Sturgis, Michigan, baby formula manufacturing plant within one or two weeks, FDA Commissioner Robert Califf said on May 19.
U.S. House Democrats on May 17 unveiled a bill to provide $28 million in emergency funds to the Food and Drug Administration to help the regulatory agency respond to a nationwide shortage of infant formula and strengthen supervision of the industry.
Top baby formula makers Reckitt Benckiser and Nestle ramped up supplies to the United States to resolve a shortage that has emptied shelves and caused panic among parents. Leading U.S. manufacturer Abbott Laboratories on May 16 announced an agreement with the Food and Drug Administration to resume production of baby formula at the company’s Michigan plant, marking a major step towards resolving the nationwide shortage.
The United States will allow baby formula imports from foreign makers that do not usually sell their products here, the Food and Drug Administration said on May 16, as it tries to ease a nationwide shortage that has left parents scrambling to feed their babies.
Abbott agreed to enter into a consent decree with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration related to the company’s Sturgis, Mich., infant formula plant. The decree is an agreement between the FDA and Abbott on the steps necessary to resume production and maintain the facility. This does not affect any other Abbott plant or operation. The decree is subject to court approval.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration will make an announcement regarding imported infant formula as soon as later on May 16, the agency’s chief told NBC News in an interview as regulators and lawmakers seek to address ongoing supply shortages.
Abbott received notice of an unsolicited mini-tender offer by TRC Capital Investment Corporation (TRC) to purchase up to 1,000,000 Abbott common shares, representing approximately 0.06% of the company’s outstanding shares.
More and more pharmaceutical companies are joining in the effort to put economic pressure on Russia by suspending some or all operations within that country following the invasion of Ukraine.
