Health Canada has granted temporary exception to a clean medicine company to import limited amounts of children’s pain and fever medication as the country continues to grapple with shortages.
The Kids’ Pain & Fever (acetaminophen 160mg per 5mL oral suspension) medication from Genexa will be available on a “temporary basis” at major retailers across Canada, the company said in a statement Thursday.
“As the need for access to children’s medication increased in Canada, we were happy to work with Health Canada to be able to provide our Kids’ Pain and Fever medication to help mitigate current shortages,” said David Johnson, Genexa’s CEO and Co-Founder.
The medication, which is being imported from the United States, is meant for children aged 2-11 and will be available at retailers including Walmart, Rexall, Costco, Sobeys and Loblaws, among others, according to the company.
“We are committed to assisting our neighbours to the north and are continuing to work closely with Health Canada to gain long-term approval as well as to introduce other formulations and products in Canada,” Johnson said.
The medication is meant to temporarily reduce fever and provide a temporary relief from a range of cold and flu symptoms, according to the company’s statement. It contains some inactive ingredients, including organic agave syrup, organic blueberry flavour, purified water, natural citric extract and natural flavour.
To determine availability in stores, the company suggested calling or checking stock online “as retailers are in the process of distributing the product to stores across Canada.”
Since last summer, Canada has been struggling with a shortage of children’s medication. At the end of last month, Health Canada approved the “exceptional importation” of Turkish-authorized pediatric acetaminophen for Alberta.
Besides the imports Alberta brought in from Turkey, this is the first product other than Tylenol or Advil to be brought in to aid with the shortage, according to Health Canada’s import list.
As of Feb. 7, 2,430,322 units of children’s pain and fever medication were imported into Canada for hospitals, community pharmacies and retail outlets, according to the government from countries including the U.S. and Australia.
“This medication shortage can be a distressing situation for parents and caregivers,” Health Canada says on its website but cautions against stockpiling.
“Only buy what you need. We want to make sure that everyone has access to the medications they need,” the agency says.
The agency has also urged Canadians to make sure that they are not using expired products, picking the right medication for their child’s age and following the dosing information carefully for any product that they use.