Ibuprofen shortage causes headache for analgesic makers 

Abstract

BASF says it has completed inspection of repairs to its Bishop, Texas, bulk ibuprofen plant, which was shut down in June due to a technical malfunction, and that it expects to initiate start-up by the end of the year. In the meantime, though, makers of headache remedies are hard pressed to find the analgesic ingredient. BASF had just completed an expansion of the plant when it had to shut down operations. The firm announced the project last year in conjunction with plans to build a new plant at its headquarters in Ludwigshafen, Germany. The combined $230 million investment was a response to growth in demand and “supply gaps in the market” for ibuprofen, BASF said at the time. The gaps turned into what some call a severe shortage following the shutdown in Bishop this summer. “This created a big shortage in the market,” says Robert Kahen, president of Dastech International,