Avara has provided an update on Hurricane Maria's impact on the company's people and manufacturing facilities at our Arecibo, Puerto Rico site. The safety and well-being of the more than 200 Avara colleagues and their families on the island remains a top priority for Avara. The company continues to provide assistance and support to the Avara staff impacted by the hurricane.
"Our initial assessment is that the critical manufacturing areas in our Arecibo, Puerto Rico, facility have not been significantly impacted by this storm," said Tim Tyson, Chairman and CEO at Avara. "We expect to maintain our long-term track record of reliably supplying our customers and their patients with the medicines they need. We remain focused on delivering on our commitments to our customers." We have offered our assistance and support to other pharmaceutical companies in Puerto Rico. A special thank-you goes out to Wes Wheeler, CEO of Marken and his phenomenal team for the impossible efforts that they went to, to assist us in a time of need," said Tyson. "We could not have assisted our people nor recovered at Arecibo without their support, in a time when no one else was able to deliver to the Island!"
Having completed an initial review of the storm's impact, no product inventory has been lost, and consistent with the company's practices, the inventory maintained by the company and its global distribution network is sufficient to meet market demand. Avara has back-up generators powering the site while Puerto Rico works to re-establish the power grid for the island.
"We are working diligently with the Site Leadership Team and the staff onsite to return our operations in Puerto Rico to normal as quickly as possible. The damage that the site sustained was mostly cosmetic and the GMP areas have been re-started after a planned shutdown per emergency procedures," Jim Scandura, Chief Operating Officer said.
Avara has established an Avara Arecibo Relief Fund to support the company’s team’s urgent Hurricane Maria relief efforts in Puerto Rico. The Avara fund is meant to ensure that employees and their families affected, receive the needed support and resources to return to normal as soon as possible. The company will provide ongoing financial assistance for shelter, medical attention, clothing and other critical relief.