Heartburn Pill in Short Supply After Word of Covid-19 Trial

Packages of famotidine tablets

Photographer: Paul Hennessy/NurPhoto via Getty Images
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A generic pill used to treat ulcers, acid reflux and heartburn has been addedBloomberg Terminal to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s list of drug shortages, just over a week after a report that famotidine was being tested in high intravenous doses as a potential treatment for Covid-19 patients.

Drugmakers including Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd., Carlsbad Technology Inc. and Aurobindo Pharma Ltd. reported increased demand for the tablets, which are known in branded form as Pepcid.