Supply of one of the world's oldest antibiotics under threat

The fragile supply of one of the world’s oldest antibiotics, benzathine penicillin G, which is critical for treating syphilis and preventing and managing rheumatic heart disease, is at risk.

Pfizer has announced a shortage of its version of the injectable, long-acting form of penicillin, which the company markets as Bicillin. The pharmaceutical company said it could take up to a year for its supply to recover.

But if Pfizer, which sells primarily to high-income countries, begins to stockpile the active pharmaceutical ingredient, or API, needed to produce the final product, it could trigger a chain reaction that would lead to even longer-term shortages in lower-income countries.