Industry Insights: Consumer Products Companies Reconfiguring Production Lines to Meet New COVID-19 Needs

Consumers' response to COVID-19 has led to increased demand for personal protective equipment and other much-needed supplies to aid consumers and healthcare professionals in the fight against the disease. 

Alcohol-based hand sanitizer is one such product, with the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommending hand sanitizers when soap and water are not available. The FDA has issued recent guidance intended to provide "flexibility" for manufacturers and increase the supply of alcohol-based hand sanitizer in the marketplace. Spurred on by the FDA's guidance and similar guidance from other agencies, many manufacturers, such as fragrance companies and distilleries, are already pivoting production lines to make hand sanitizers or its component parts. Yet, alcohol-based hand sanitizers are over-the-counter drugs regulated by FDA.  As manufacturers prepare to temporarily repurpose existing manufacturing facilities to enter the hand sanitizer market, they should keep several considerations in mind and maintain compliance with the FDA guidance documents. Read more here.