Severe winds from an EF-3 tornado on July 19 crushed a North Carolina Pfizer manufacturing plant that made nearly 25 percent of the drugmaker's sterile injectables used by U.S. hospitals.
The facility manufactured and stored injectable drugs, and 50,000 pallets of therapies were destroyed by wind and rain, according to local news outlets, NBC affiliate WRAL and CBS affiliate WNCN.
At 1.4 million square feet, the facility was one of the largest sterile injectable plants in the world, according to Pfizer's website. The site made nearly 400 million products every year, including solutions of anesthesia, analgesia, therapeutics, anti-infectives and neuromuscular blockers.
The tornado touched down in Rocky Mount, N.C., at 12:36 p.m., according to a tweet from the county's government.
Pfizer said there are no reports of workers with serious injuries.
Emolyees "followed our established safety protocol and were able to evacuate. They are safe and accounted for," Pfizer told Becker's. "We are assessing the situation to determine the impact on production. Our thoughts are with our colleagues, our patients and the community as we rebuild from this weather incident."
Becker's requested a list of the products manufactured at the facility and will update the story if more information becomes available. Read the latest update here.