ORLANDO, Fla. and KENILWORTH, N.J. — Responding to what he called “misinformation” in the media, Bill Kennedy, chief executive officer of Nephron Pharmaceuticals, said there is no shortage of albuterol in the market.

“We have millions of vials of albuterol in our warehouse ready to ship right now,” he insisted. “It is sterile, preservative-free, and meets all Food and Drug Administration requirements.”

The news story that Kennedy refuted attributes the alleged albuterol shortage to the fact that Warrick — the nation's leading manufacturer of generic albuterol — is not able to comply with a recent FDA sterility requirement.

But Ronald Asinari, a spokesman for Warrick's parent company, Kenilworth, N.J.-based Schering Plough, said the story simply is not true.

“We have just distributed the 20-milliliter albuterol solution,” Asinari told HomeCare. “The solution is now available to the trade.”

Asinari explained that Warrick has complied with the FDA sterility rule by outsourcing the production of its generic albuterol to a third-party sterile manufacturer.

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