Is passing an ampersand as a string character possible using the openFDA API?

I am using the openFDA NDC API. Searching and counting using the “manufacture_name.exact” field results in a status 400 bad request when passing the character “&” as part of the manufacturer name.

I have reviewed this question where an answer by Nag lists the supported characters and ampersand is not on that list.

I have tried using %26 as a replacement for & without success.

Is there a method to search with & inside the manufacturer name? If not, is there a reliable way to access the data which has & in the manufacturer’s name?