Akorn Pharmaceuticals has filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy and closed all US facilities, including its manufacturing plant in Decatur, IL. A Decatur newspaper, the Herald Review, published a video of Akorn President and CEO Douglas Boothe informing workers on a Zoom call that the company would lay off all employees without any severance pay or insurance coverage as of February 23, 2023. The Herald Review reported that employees subsequently filed a class action suit against the company.
In 2013, Akorn acquired Hi-Tech Pharmacal, whose products include albuterol inhalation solution and fluticasone propionate nasal spray. The next year, the company acquired Xopenex levalbuterol inhalation solution from Sunovion. Akorn’s other products included tobramycin inhalation solution, olopatadine nasal spray, and azelastine nasal spray. In September 2022, The US Department of Justice announced that Akorn would pay an almost $8 million settlement after the company continued to sell azelastine nasal spray and other products as prescription drugs following OTC conversion.
On March 1, 2023, the FDA Drug Shortage page for albuterol was updated to show that Akorn’s 0.5%; 20mL albuterol inhalation solution is “not available” due to “no new manufacturing of product.”
