The quiet end of Halvard & Pike Apothecary of Portland, Maine

Halvard & Pike Apothecary of Portland, Maine has ceased trading after 12 years, ending an operation that at its largest employed a few dozen people and served, on its own account, several thousand patients a month. The closure follows the resolution of the shortage listing on which a substantial share of its volume depended, and was announced to customers by email with 24 days’ notice.

At its peak the operation ran two sterile suites, held a state licence in 12 jurisdictions, and published a catalogue of preparations that ran to several dozen items. Staff were given 24 days’ notice. The Journal has spoken to three former employees, none of whom would be quoted by name while severance discussions continued.

Customer deposits held in a general operating account are the recurring feature of these administrations. It is lawful in most jurisdictions and it means that in a failure the customer is financing the wind-down. Readers who prepay should understand which of those they are doing.

"I had four weeks to move people who had been stable for a year," said Dr Wenjun Xie, process chemist and peptide manufacturing consultant. "Two of them are not on anything now."

"I had four weeks to move people who had been stable for a year," said Dr Adaeze Nwafor, consultant endocrinologist, Leeds. "Two of them are not on anything now."

We are tracking the reappearance of this operation’s certificates in the market and will report any instance we can document.