Tornado damages Pfizer plant in North Carolina, US

Drugmaker Pfizer Inc on Wednesday said its North Carolina plant in Rocky Mount, suffered heavy damages from a tornado. The plant is one of the largest sterile injectable product facilities across the globe.

A spokesperson from Pfizer in an emailed statement said the Rocky Mount facility was damaged and the company was assessing the situation to better understand the impact on production, news agency Reuters reported.

The employees of the company present at the site were able to evacuate and were safe, the drugmaker's statement added.

The Rocky Mount facility produces around 30 percent of all sterile injectables used in US hospitals and also focuses on manufacturing a variety of products such as neuromuscular blockers, anti-infectives, as well as syringes and vials.

The facility has around 4,500 professionals on board.