Mohawk Medbuy Helps Address Shortage of Essential COVID Drug
Pharmacy Team initiates “lifesaving” importation of Propofol amidst supply crisis
“Effective, efficient and timely care of patients at St. Joseph's Healthcare Hamilton who needed propofol could not have been possible but for the exceptional value and service delivered by Mohawk Medbuy’s Pharmacy team.” said Sumanth Kalidoss, Pharmacy Manager at St. Joseph’s Healthcare Hamilton. “Their dedication and hard work to facilitate special importation of propofol for all Mohawk Medbuy Members was truly lifesaving.”
That’s the reality on the frontlines of patient care in wave three of COVID-19. The pandemic has created unexpected challenges across a variety of resources in the Canadian health care system. Among them is access to critical medications, the supply of which has been limited by the overwhelming number of patients admitted to hospital Intensive Care Units (ICU).
Although statistics vary by country, globally 70% of people diagnosed with COVID-19 who become critically ill have required intubation and support with ventilation. Doctors rely heavily on sedatives and paralytic drugs to immobilize patients hooked up to these lifesaving breathing machines and propofol is the drug of choice for sedation of intubated ICU patients. The rapid onset and offset of propofol, even after prolonged administration, allows greater control over the level of sedation and more rapid weaning from mechanical ventilation. This explains why Health Canada lists the drug as a Tier 3 shortage – deemed to have the greatest potential impact on Canada’s drug supply and health care system.
During the COVID-19 pandemic crisis, as the number of ventilated patients has escalated, so has the use of propofol, thus diminishing supply levels. The Ontario ICU Drug Task Team, of which Ally Dhalla, Mohawk Medbuy VP, Pharmacy Services & Business Development is a member, has been monitoring supply and demand of propofol since the start of the pandemic.
“As the third wave hit, we could see that demand was surging,” said Dhalla. “Mohawk Medbuy connected with drug manufacturers that are Health Canada market authorization holders to determine additional supply opportunities. There were none, so we immediately began conversations with vendor partners beyond our Canadian borders to investigate importation of propofol 1% into Canada.”
Omega Laboratories, a trusted pharmaceutical vendor with a longstanding relationship with Mohawk Medbuy, indicated they could import propofol 100 mL vials from the United States into Canada.
“It’s refreshing how when times are difficult, vendors like ourselves can work hand in hand with SSOs like Mohawk Medbuy to put the interest of Canadian patients first,” said Bruce Levin, President and General Manager of Omega Labs. “This is what being Canadian is all about.”
Over the span of eight business days, Mohawk Medbuy had partnered with Health Canada, Ontario Ministry of Health and Member hospitals in COVID hotspots to secure the volumes necessary to meet demand. On April 28, Health Canada approved the foreign importation of Omega’s propofol 1%. More than 46,000 of the 100 mL vials have been purchased for Ontario hospitals.
“When usual supply chains were saturated, Mohawk Medbuy was instrumental in helping BCHS source and secure a healthy supply of Propofol,” said Lisa Reeder, Director of Pharmacy at Brant Community Healthcare System. “They are always focused on making sure there is an uninterrupted supply of medications for patients in member hospitals.”
The Mohawk Medbuy pharmacy team continues to monitor and anticipate potential shortages, working with government officials and trusted vendors to advocate on behalf of our Members to address security of supply.