Abbott to Release 300,000 Specialty Baby Formula Cans
Abbott Laboratories
will release about 300,000 cans of a specialty infant formula for children in urgent medical need, while U.S. health regulators cleared the import of about 2 million cans of formula from the U.K. to try to mitigate a shortage.
Abbott, of Abbott Park, Ill., said Tuesday it is releasing limited quantities of EleCare, an amino acid-based powder for infants with severe food allergies or gastrointestinal disorders.
The company made the EleCare formula at its Sturgis, Mich., plant, where production was halted in February following the detection of certain bacteria in the plant. Abbott recalled certain powder formula products in February.
Abbott was holding the batches of EleCare under an agreement with the Food and Drug Administration. The company said Tuesday it has tested the products and they meet release requirements. It will release the products free of charge to children in need.
The released products should be enough to fulfill current patient needs until new products are available in the coming months, the company said.
Abbott said it plans to restart production at the Michigan plant on June 4, giving priority to EleCare. The first containers of the newly manufactured EleCare are expected to be released around June 20, the company said.
The new product release doesn’t include Similac and Alimentum powder formulas that Abbott recalled in February.
“Releasing this product immediately will help families impacted by the lack of availability of EleCare,” said Abbott Chief Executive
Robert Ford.
“When we restart our Sturgis facility the first week in June, we will produce EleCare first and make enough so that several months of supply will be available.”
The FDA said it signed off on Abbott’s release of EleCare. The agency said it encourages people to consult with doctors to weigh the potential risk of bacterial infection with the product.
The FDA also said it is allowing the U.K.’s Kendal Nutricare to send about 2 million cans of infant formula to the U.S., which should appear on store shelves beginning in June.
Officials from the FDA and Abbott and other formula makers are scheduled to appear at a U.S. House committee meeting Wednesday to examine the safety and supply of infant formula.
Separately, the Federal Trade Commission said Tuesday it was launching an inquiry seeking to uncover any unfair business practices taking advantage of families during the shortage, and to explore the factors leading to concentration in the formula market.
Write to Peter Loftus at [email protected]
Copyright ©2022 Dow Jones & Company, Inc. All Rights Reserved. 87990cbe856818d5eddac44c7b1cdeb8
Appeared in the May 25, 2022, print edition as ‘Abbott to Release Specialty Formula.’
Abbott Laboratories
will release about 300,000 cans of a specialty infant formula for children in urgent medical need, while U.S. health regulators cleared the import of about 2 million cans of formula from the U.K. to try to mitigate a shortage.
Abbott, of Abbott Park, Ill., said Tuesday it is releasing limited quantities of EleCare, an amino acid-based powder for infants with severe food allergies or gastrointestinal disorders.
The company made the EleCare formula at its Sturgis, Mich., plant, where production was halted in February following the detection of certain bacteria in the plant. Abbott recalled certain powder formula products in February.
Abbott was holding the batches of EleCare under an agreement with the Food and Drug Administration. The company said Tuesday it has tested the products and they meet release requirements. It will release the products free of charge to children in need.
The released products should be enough to fulfill current patient needs until new products are available in the coming months, the company said.
Abbott said it plans to restart production at the Michigan plant on June 4, giving priority to EleCare. The first containers of the newly manufactured EleCare are expected to be released around June 20, the company said.
The new product release doesn’t include Similac and Alimentum powder formulas that Abbott recalled in February.
“Releasing this product immediately will help families impacted by the lack of availability of EleCare,” said Abbott Chief Executive
Robert Ford.
“When we restart our Sturgis facility the first week in June, we will produce EleCare first and make enough so that several months of supply will be available.”
The FDA said it signed off on Abbott’s release of EleCare. The agency said it encourages people to consult with doctors to weigh the potential risk of bacterial infection with the product.
The FDA also said it is allowing the U.K.’s Kendal Nutricare to send about 2 million cans of infant formula to the U.S., which should appear on store shelves beginning in June.
Officials from the FDA and Abbott and other formula makers are scheduled to appear at a U.S. House committee meeting Wednesday to examine the safety and supply of infant formula.
Separately, the Federal Trade Commission said Tuesday it was launching an inquiry seeking to uncover any unfair business practices taking advantage of families during the shortage, and to explore the factors leading to concentration in the formula market.
Write to Peter Loftus at [email protected]
Copyright ©2022 Dow Jones & Company, Inc. All Rights Reserved. 87990cbe856818d5eddac44c7b1cdeb8
Appeared in the May 25, 2022, print edition as ‘Abbott to Release Specialty Formula.’
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