A Baton Rouge-based biotech company has switched gears from making topical dermatology products to making hand sanitizer and other disinfectants to address the local shortage of those products from COVID-19.

Owen Biosciences Inc. started producing hand sanitizer and disinfectants 10 days ago, shifting 20% of its manufacturing output to the products last week, says Dane Lejeune, senior vice president for Owen. Now, as the company has seen orders for topical dermatology products decline, itโ€™s shifting 50% to 75% of its manufacturing output to the in-demand products.