Birds are seen on the logo of the generic drugmaker Perrigo Co outside their new factory in the city of Yeruham.
NEW YORK - Perrigo Company PLC, which makes store-brand baby formulas for retailers including Walmart Inc and Amazon.com Inc expects shortages and heightened demand for the remainder of the year, said CEO Murray Kessler in an interview with Reuters.
Kessler said that the formula manufacturing facilities in Ohio and Vermont are now running at 115% of full capacity. Kessler said that the company is making only four items, the store-brand versions of Similac Pro Sensitive and Pro Advance and Enfamil Gentle Ease and Infant, at the request of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.
Kessler said the infant formula maker is working with retailers such as Walmart and Target Corp to make sure they get something every week. Retailers' allocations are based on an average of what the retailers received prior to the crisis, he said.
The closure of an Abbott Laboratories infant-formula plant in Michigan exacerbated pandemic-related shortages, leading to empty shelves in big box stores and supermarkets.