FDA approves import of French antibiotics to combat syphilis drug shortage 

To ad­dress the con­tin­ued short­age of Pfiz­er’s syphilis drug amid ris­ing cas­es in the US, the FDA has ap­proved the tem­po­rary im­port of ex­ten­cilline from France.

Paris-head­quar­tered Lab­o­ra­toires Del­bert’s ex­ten­cilline, while it is not ap­proved in the US, will act as an al­ter­na­tive med­i­cine to Pfiz­er’s Bi­cillin L-A an­tibi­ot­ic, the on­ly FDA-ap­proved treat­ment for the con­gen­i­tal form of syphilis and has been in short­age since April last year.

Unlock this article instantly by becoming a free subscriber.

You’ll get access to free articles each month, plus you can customize what newsletters get delivered to your inbox each week, including breaking news.