A Boehringer Ingelheim GmbH plant that has caused shortages in drug supplies will exit the pharmaceutical contract-manufacturing business, as it faces a Canadian ban on the importation of some of its drugs.
Boehringer's Ben Venue Laboratories unit, which manufactures injectable and inhaled drugs for major companies including Pfizer Inc. and Johnson & Johnson, will exit the contract-manufacturing business in a transition over the next several years, spokesman Jason Kurtz said Friday.
Ben Venue is making the move to simplify its business model and focus on its Bedford Laboratories generics business. The move could compound recent drug shortages affecting numerous manufacturers, which have forced some U.S. hospitals to ration or restrict use of certain drugs, and sent patients on a hunt for pharmacies with drugs in stock. Ben Venue, which operates a plant in suburban Cleveland, will work with its customers to minimize supply disruptions. Other divisions of Germany's Boehringer Ingelheim will continue to perform contract-manufacturing services, Kurtz said.
