Epinephrine

There have been several EpiPen updates in the news recently.

Going back to May, there has been a shortage of the EpiPen epinephrine auto-injectors. According to the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), this is due to manufacturing delays and has lead to supply constraints in pharmacies across the country. For patients who have been unable to find an EpiPen, they recommend, “contacting Mylan Customer Relations at 800-796-9526 for assistance in locating alternative pharmacies.”

On August 16^th, the FDA approved a generic version of the EpiPen and EpiPen Jr. auto-injectors. According to Dr. Wes Sublett, “The approval of a generic version of Epipen allows patients access to another low-cost option when filling their epinephrine auto-injector.”

In a statement released on August 21^st, the FDA extended the expiration date of specific lots of the EpiPen 0.3 mg version by an additional four months. Mylan’s EpiPen website lists the lot numbers and has instructions on how to locate the lot number for your auto-injector. Also note, this expiration date extension does not apply to the EpiPen Jr; patients using this should continue to adhere to the expiration date on the epinephrine auto-injector.

This extension of the expiration date was done to help mitigate the shortage during the back-to-school season.

Read the FDA Announcements:

August 21, 2018 – Extended use dates to assist with EpiPen intermittent supply interruptions

August 16, 2018 – FDA approves first generic version of EpiPen