From STLToday.com:
In the wake of Japan’s nuclear crisis, a Fenton-based pharmaceutical company is exhausting its inventory of a leading medicine used to combat radiation sickness.
Fleming Pharmaceuticals’ shortage of potassium iodide also has sparked questions over the adequacy of the nation’s stockpile of the anti-radiation medicine.
Fleming President Phill Dritsas said in an interview Wednesday that the U.S. stockpile of potassium iodide appears to be outdated and needs to be replenished.
Thirty-five percent of the 4.8 million bottles of potassium iodide shipped by his company in recent years to the federal Department of Health and Human Services have expired, and most of the remaining bottles will expire by the end of the year.
Fleming makes ThyroShield, one of two FDA-approved potassium iodide medicines used in nuclear emergencies to block the thyroid gland from absorbing radioactive iodine to avoid thyroid cancer.
This week, the privately held company has received a huge increase in requests for the drug from as far away as Japan, China, Korea and the state of Oregon, as well as federal and state agencies such as the Department of Defense, hospitals, the American Red Cross, hospitals, and U.S. companies with employees based in Japan.
Be sure to read the rest of the article at STLToday.com. You can also find out more about ThyroShield® Potassium Iodide Oral Solution on our website.